NEWTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team swept a pair of matches at a tri-match hosted by Mount Ida as the Leopards rallied to defeat Daniel Webster, 3-1, before defeating the host Mustangs by the same score.
In the opening set against the Eagles, the Leopards rallied from a three-point deficit on three occasions, however three straight points after a 19-all tie gave Daniel Webster the lead for good, taking a 25-21 win. Junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) had five kills and four digs in the set and senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had four digs of her own.
Curran's serving was a key factor for the Black & Gold as she served five aces in the set and sophomores Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) and Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) had three kills apiece in a 25-20 win. In the third set the Leopards claimed a 25-13 victory after hitting .345 and forcing the Eagles to hit -.154, with freshman Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.) recording five kills on seven swings.
Wentworth closed out the match with a 25-8 win in the fourth set as the Leopards hit a match-high .476. Bailey had four kills and Meyers served four aces.
Bailey finished with 12 kills and 11 digs while Meyers and Young had nine kills apiece. Nihan finished with six kills and seven blocks while Curran and Meyers had five aces apiece. Curran also had 17 digs and senior Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 24 assists. As a team the Black & Gold had 18 aces in the win.
The Leopards held a 24-22 lead in the opening set against Mount Ida before the Mustangs scored the next two points on back-to-back kills to even the score at 24-all. However, a service error and an ace from freshman Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) gave the Black & Gold a 26-24 win. Bailey had five kills in the set while Carlson had three and Curran had nine digs.
In the second set, the two teams battled through 10 ties and three lead changes before Mount Ida took the lead for good at 20-19. The Leopards would pull within one at 23-22 and again at 24-23, however at attack error gave the hosts a 25-23 win and evened the match at a set apiece. Bailey had three kills in the set while Meyers and Young had two apiece.
Wentworth forced Mount Ida to hit -.077 in the third set and took a 25-13 win after leading almost the entire match. Carlson and Bailey had three kills apiece, while Curran, who had a pair of aces in the second set, had three more in the third set.
The Leopards closed out the match with a 25-15 win in the fourth set as Carlson had three kills and Meyers and Young had two apiece. Curran served three more aces and had five digs.
Bailey led the offense with 12 kills while Carlson had nine and hit .438. Young added seven kills and five blocks, Curran had eight aces and 20 digs, and Ponce had 30 assists.
Wentworth (4-2) is at WPI on Wednesday night.
Daniel Webster
Mount Ida