BOSTON, Mass. – A balanced offensive attack led by eight kills from freshman Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.), seven kills from junior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.), and six kills from freshman Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) helped the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team get back on the winning track as the Leopards defeated the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 3-0, in a non-conference match played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Leopards improve to 14-3 on the season and tie the program's single-season record for wins while the Corsairs fall to 6-12 on the season.
The hosts hit a blistering .520 in the opening set, making just one error on 25 swings (14-1-25). Wentworth led wire-to-wire, scoring the first two points and not looking back. After taking a 15-8 lead on a junior Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) kill, freshman Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) was at the service line for six straight points to extend the lead to 21-8. Consecutive points from UMass Dartmouth made it 21-10, however Wentworth closed out the set, 25-10. Rogoz had four kills in the set while Quick had three kills on four swings and Shea had three kills on five swings. The trio combined to make just one error in the set.
Freshman Jordan Rittberger (Huntington, N.Y.) served the first four points of the second set for the Corsairs, however the run was ended on a freshman Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) kill. After UMass Dartmouth claimed the next point to take a 5-1 lead, a ball handling error made it 5-2 and Lassiter served four straight points to give Wentworth a 6-5 lead. A service error knotted the score at 6-all before the Leopards took the lead for good with a 7-0 run. Carlson started the run with a kill and then served six straight points, including an ace. Wentworth's lead swelled to 18-11 after a service error before UMass Dartmouth scored three of the next four points to make it 19-14 on a freshman Talia Roberson (Norwalk, Conn.) kill. Wentworth scored six of the set's final 10 points, including a block from Rogoz and senior Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.). Rogoz had three kills and two blocks in the set while Shea and Nihan added three kills apiece.
Wentworth played from behind for most of the third set and trailed 22-13 after an attack error. However, the Leopards mounted a furious comeback, which began with a block from Nihan. Freshman Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) went to the line and served six straight points, with four coming by way of aces, to make it 22-20. Freshman Anita Sengara (Vancouver, B.C.) ended the run with a kill which made it 23-20, however Nihan answered with a kill of her own to make it 23-21. Sophomore Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) stepped to the line to close out the match as the Leopards scored four straight with two coming by way of Lassiter kills. Lassiter had two kills and two aces in the set, Quick had a pair of kills, and Cambray served four aces.
In addition to her eight kills, Rogoz had seven digs and four blocks. Nihan had five kills on eight swings without making an error to go along with a pair of blocks, Lassiter and Cambray had five and four aces, respectively, Carlson had four kills and 17 assists, Clouse had 13 assists, and Clark had 13 digs.
Wentworth hosts Pine Manor and Salem State in a tri-match on Saturday.
