BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) had seven kills and hit .462, as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team defeated UMass Dartmouth 3-0 in non-conference action on Thursday night at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the victory the Leopards improve to 10-9 on the season and snap Wentworth snaps a seven-match series losing streak to the Corsairs, who fall to 8-11.
The first set was all Wentworth, as the Leopards opened on a 7-1 run. After committing a service error to make the score 7-2, Wentworth would score eight straight points to take a 15-2 lead and would only give up only four more points in the set, as they closed it out 25-6 thanks to strong play at the net from freshman Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.).
UMass Dartmouth came out strong in the second set, as the Corsairs held multiple leads. Trailing 10-9, senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had a service ace to tie the set at 10. The two teams would go point-for-point, exchanging leads multiple times, up until the score was tied at 21. Wentworth regained the lead thanks to a kill from senior Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.). The Leopards didn't look back from there, as they finished the set with a kill from junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) to win 25-22.
Wentworth opened the third set with three straight points, but UMass Dartmouth responded with three unanswered points to knot the set at 3-all. After tying the score again at six, the Leopards went on an 8-1 run to lead 14-7. Wentworth looked poised to end the set early when it lead 21-15, but the Corsairs stormed back to tie the match at 22-22. The Leopards closed out the set and the match by scoring three straight points, including on a Bailey kill at match point.
In addition to her seven kills and .462 hitting percentage, Young had four blocks. Bailey had a match-high nine kills and recorded six digs, freshman Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.) had seven kills, Ponce had a match-high 25 assists, and Curran led with 19 digs
For the Corsairs, junior Brianna Perry led her team with 13 digs and two aces and junior outside hitter Jasmine Burris had four kills. Junior Kayla Kirby (Westport, Mass.) and senior Caitlin Bien (Millbury, Mass.) had five and four assists, respectively.
Wentworth travels to Becker this Saturday afternoon for a non-conference tri-match against Becker and Elms. Dartmouth returns home on Tuesday to face Lasell at 7 p.m.
