BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team hosted its first tri-match of the season, entertaining Mount Ida College and WPI in Tansey Gymnasium on Saturday, September 12.
Wentworth split both of its matches, defeating Mount Ida in straight sets before falling to WPI in straight sets. The Engineers also defeated the Mustangs, capturing the match in four sets.
Wentworth 3, Mount Ida 0: Wentworth senior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) registered a team-high eight kills, sophomore Sydney Myers (Washington, D.C.) tallied five kills and four digs and freshman Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) paced the Black and Gold with 20 digs as the Leopards defeated the Mustangs by scores of 25-16, 26-24, 25-21.
Junior Amanda Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.) led the Leopards with 20 assists, while registering a trio of service aces and two digs. Freshman Sarah Hyndman (Encinitas, Calif.) tallied a trio of kills and block assists, and a pair of service aces.
Mount Ida junior Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass.) paced the Mustangs with 13 total attacks, including five kills, while recording 10 assists and four digs. Sophomore Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.) and freshman Kristy Walton (Fairhaven, Mass.) combined for 13 kills and 10 digs.
After falling in the opening set, Mount Ida rallied midway through the second session following a kill by Reidy that jumpstarted an 11-4 run, which tied the set at 21-21. Both teams swapped points over the next few serves, but it was a pair of miscues by Mount Ida that provided Wentworth with the second set victory.
Wentworth's momentum continued in the third set as Hunton recorded back-to-back kills late in the frame that resulted in a 7-3 run to secure its third victory of the season.
WPI 3, Mount Ida 1: WPI utilized a 15-2 run in the fourth set to secure a 25-12, 25-16, 25-17, 25-6 victory against Mount Ida. Freshman Casey Hunt (Granby, Conn.) paced WPI's attack with a double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs, while registering a pair of serving aces. Sophomore Melissa Daigle (Norfolk, Mass.) registered eight kills and eight digs, while junior Cassandra Tomerlin (La Quinta, Calif.) tallied 10 digs.
Mount Ida senior Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) and Reidy combined for 18 digs and 12 kills. Davis also paced the Mustangs with a pair of serving aces and Dunbar tallied a team-best 13 assists.
After dropping back-to-back sets to start the match, Mount Ida commenced the third session by tallying five consecutive points to earn enough momentum that would carry them to an eight-point victory. WPI trimmed the deficit with a pair of runs late in the session, however, Mount Ida regrouped with a kill by Davis that helped the Mustangs push ahead for good.
WPI secured the win in the fourth set by jumping out to an 11-4 advantage. A service ace by Hunt kept momentum on the Engineers side as they closed the session on a 12-2 run.
WPI 3, Wentworth 0: A kill by Casey Hunt midway through the third stanza ignited a 9-5 run that lifted the Engineers to their fifth victory of the season. Hunt concluded the match with a game-high 11 kills, along with three digs. WPI freshman Azita Bakhtyari (Andover, Mass.) led all players with 18 assists, while junior Shay Feeley (Franklin, Mass.) tallied 17 assists.
Bailey led the Leopards with a team-high eight kills, along with three block assists, while Hunton paced the Black & Gold with 20 assists. Sophomore Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) finished with six kills and a trio of blocking assists and Clark recorded a team-high 11 digs.
Daigle helped WPI push ahead for good in the opening set, tallying a kill early in the session that provided the Engineers with the lead for good. Bakhtyari sealed the first set victory with a kill that was set-up by sophomore Kat Hurlock.
Both teams stayed within one point of each other in the second set before a ball handling error led to a 9-5 run by the Engineers, which provided WPI with a second set win. Wentworth junior Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) commenced the third set with a kill that helped the Leopards push ahead, 6-3, however, the Engineers countered with Hunt, who jumpstarted a short run to bring WPI within one point. Both teams continued to swap points before Daigle registered back-to-back kills late in the session that helped WPI go onto clinch the match.
All three teams return to the court next Tuesday, September 15 as Wentworth hosts Suffolk, WPI entertains MIT and Mount Ida travels to Regis College with all three matches beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Mount Ida
WPI