DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Backed by a solid all-around effort, the UMass Dartmouth women's volleyball team posted a 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) victory over Wheaton College in their home opener on Tuesday. The victory moves the Corsairs to 3-1 on the young season, while Wheaton is now 3-3 overall.
 
Pacing UMass Dartmouth was senior captain and outside hitter Allison Pate, who notched nine kills with nine digs to go along with an assist, two service aces and two block assists. Junior opposite Olivia Seutter added eight kills with an assist and a block assist, while rookie outside hitter Norah Schweitzer added seven kills with four digs. Senior captain and setter Skye Peters posted 24 assists with five digs, while classmate and middle blocker Maddie Carter had three block assists to go along with four kills and two digs.
 
It was a tight battle that pushed right to the wire in the opening set as the Corsairs owned a 24-18 advantage following a service ace from senior middle blocker Ella Soutter and an attacking error against the visitors. Yet the Lyons came roaring back as five straight points – including a pair of aces from Maddy Botelho – cut the Wheaton deficit to 24-23. UMD answered to seal the victory as Carter laid down a kill for the set win.
 
UMass Dartmouth came out firing in the second set, utilizing a pair of runs to open up a 16-13 lead. A pair of kills from Pate, coupled with Wheaton errors, pushed the home team to a 21-13 lead. The Lyons nabbed another point, but three straight – including kills from Pate and Seutter – helped close out the set victory.
 
In what proved to be the final frame of the night, the Corsairs opened an 18-12 lead but Wheaton notched four straight points to narrow the gap to 18-16. The visitors pulled it to within two (22-20), but UMass Dartmouth capitalized on back-to-back errors and a kill from Carter to seal the match win.
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Friday, welcoming WPI for a 6pm match in Tripp Gym. The Corsairs will then host Framingham State (10am) and Johnson & Wales (2pm) in tri-match action on Saturday.