FRANKLIN, Mass. – Powered by match-high efforts from four different players, including a match-best 11 kills by senior captain
Allison Pate, the UMass Dartmouth volleyball team defeated Dean College, 3-0 (25-7, 25-2, 26-24) in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday.
Pate – an outside hitter – posted just one error on 15 attempts for a stellar .667 hitting percentage. She added four service aces and five digs on the night. Senior captain and setter
Skye Peters added a match-best 24 assists to go along with two service aces, nine digs and a kill, while rookie defensive specialist
Brooke Harrington notched match-high's in both service aces (6) and digs (11) with two assists.
Senior opposite
Maddie Carter led the way with two block solos, adding six kills with just one error on nine attempts for a .556 hitting percentage, while rookie outside hitter
Norah Schweitzer added six kills with three assists, a block solo and eight digs in her collegiate debut.
It was a close battle to open the first as neither team led by more than two through the first 12 points. Locked in a 6-6 tie, the Corsairs broke open the set with a 12-0 run – including four kills from Pate – to make it an 18-6 score in the frame. The Bulldogs gained a point back, but seven straight points from UMD – including two more kills from Pate – sealed the opening set win.
Second set action saw the visiting Corsairs carry the momentum into a 6-0 advantage. Dean nabbed a point back, but three kills from Schweitzer and a pair of service aces from Pate saw the UMass Dartmouth lead expand to 19-1. Dean once again got a point back, but two kills from junior opposite
Olivia Seutter, along with a pair of aces from Harrington closed out the second set victory.
Third set action saw Dean rally from a 7-3 deficit to rattle off 11 straight points for a 14-7 advantage. The Bulldogs continued to keep the lead, holding a 24-19 margin on the verge of a set win, but seven straight points – with kills from Pate and Carter – sealed the win and the match victory.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Friday, traveling to New London, Conn., for matches against the Coast Guard Academy (3pm) and Endicott College (5pm) at Roland Hall.
