BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) registered her third double-double of the season as she recorded 12 kills and 15 digs to help pace the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Simmons in a non-conference contest Tuesday night.
The Leopards extend their finest start in program history to 5-0 while the Sharks fall to 1-3.
Simmons won the opening set, 25-21, before Wentworth came back to win the final three frames, 25-18, 25-22, 25-20.
Quick also hit a match-best .379 for the Leopards and fired a pair of aces, while classmate Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) put down seven kills, picked up 13 digs and served up three aces. Freshman Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) recorded a team-high 17 assists and added eight digs and a pair of aces. Wentworth finished the evening with 10 aces as a team.
Senior Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) led the Sharks with a match-high 14 kills on a .333 hitting mark to go with four digs and an ace, while freshman Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) swung for nine kills to go with 14 digs and a block assist. Freshman Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) doled out 29 assists to lead all players, to go along with five digs.
Simmons won six of the first seven points to open the match, before the Wentworth countered with a 5-2 run to close to within 9-7. The home team built a seven-point advantage on a 6-1 burst, behind four kills from Fredrickson, taking a 15-8 lead. The Sharks later maintained a 20-14 margin, but the visitors chipped away and pulled to within 24-21 on a kill from junior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.). Weeg ended the set with a kill to give the hosts a 25-21 first set victory.
The Leopards leapt out to a 12-4 lead in the second set, behind two kills and an ace from Quick, who made just one attack error for the night. Wentworth took its largest lead of the set at 18-8, before Simmons climbed back to within five points on a 7-2 run at 20-15. The Sharks would get no closer than 22-18, before the Leopards tallied the final three points to close out the frame and take the set.
Wentworth ripped off the first four points of the third set, but Simmons put together a 9-2 run, paced by a kill and an ace from Fredrickson, to take a 9-6 lead. The Sharks led for the majority of the set and held a 17-15 margin, before the Leopards scored four of the next five points to take its first lead since early in the set. Wentworth continued the run with another 4-1 span as part of an 8-2 run, led by a pair of kills and an ace from freshman Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) and two kills from Quick, to take a 23-19 set lead. Weeg later found the open floor for a kill to pull Simmons to within 23-22, but Quick registered a pair of kills to give the visitors a 25-22 win.
The teams traded runs in the first dozen points and sat tied at 6-6, before the Leopards went on a 10-3 run, sparked by a pair of aces from Clouse, to take a 16-9 advantage. Wentworth later took its biggest lead of the frame at 23-15. The Sharks reeled off five unanswered points, capped by a kill from senior Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 23-20, but the Leopards scored the final two points, including the final point of the night on a kill from Lassiter.
Wentworth is at WPI on Saturday for a tri-match with the Engineers and Mount Ida.
