NEWPORT, R.I. – Sophomore Annie Donahue (Chelmsford, Mass.) recorded 16 kills and a pair of blocks as the Salve Regina University women's volleyball team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-1, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played Saturday at the Rodgers Recreation Center.
With the win the Seahawks improve to 14-10 overall and 4-3 in CCC play while the Leopards see their second-longest win streak of the season (10) snapped, falling for just the third time in 26 matches (23-3, 5-2 CCC).
Salve Regina scored the first three points of the opening set and increased its lead to 14-5 after four straight Wentworth errors. A kill from senior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) ended a 9-1 run and the Leopards eventually used a 9-2 run of their own to come within four after a solo block from Shea. A pair of errors gave the Seahawks a 22-16, however, Wentworth came back to within three at 23-20 on a kill from sophomore Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.). Holding a 24-21 lead the hosts took the first set, 25-21.
Sophomore Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) had a kill and assisted on a block with classmate Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) to give the visitors a 2-0 lead to start the second set. Salve Regina countered with six straight points, taking a 6-2 lead on a kill from freshman Andee Bender (Lebanon, Conn.). Wentworth pulled to within a point on two occasions, including when a Rogoz kill made it 15-14, however the Seahawks scored the next four points to make it 19-14. Scoring seven of the next 11 points, the Black & Gold pulled to within two at 23-21 on a Rogoz kill. Back-to-back kills by Salve Regina ended the set and gave the hosts a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 win.
Looking to extend the match, Wentworth rallied from an early, 4-3 deficit in set number three to take a 25-12 win. A Lassiter kill tied the set for the fourth and final time (4-4) and began a 12-3 run which gave the Leopards a 15-7 lead. Salve Regina scored two of the next three points to bring the score to 16-9, however, four straight Leopard kills – two each by Quick and Lassiter – began an 8-1 run which extended the lead to 24-10. The Black & Gold hit a team-high .367 in the set.
After the Seahawks took a 4-2 lead to start the fourth set, Rogoz recorded a kill and Wentworth took advantage of an attack error to knot the score at 4-all. Three straight Salve Regina points gave the hosts a 7-4 lead, however, the Leopards came back to tie the score at 9-all on a senior Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) kill. The Seahawks used a 7-0 run to break the set open at 16-9 before Wentworth eventually came within three points at 23-20, using a 7-2 run to do so. However, a service error followed by a Donahue kill gave the hosts the 25-20 win to clinch the match.
In addition to Donahue's 16 kills, senior Samantha Higgins (Coventry, R.I.) had nine kills without making an error on 20 swings (.450). Junior Kendall Wilcox (Pomfret, Conn.) added seven kills while senior Samantha Salwa (Ellington, Conn.) had 36 assists and two aces.
Rogoz paced Wentworth with 16 kills to go along with nine digs. Quick had a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs, and Lassiter hit .364 on 10 kills (10-2-22) to go along with a pair of blocks. Sophomores Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) and Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) had 21 and 20 assists, respectively, while sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had 19 digs.
Wentworth is at Eastern Nazarene on Tuesday night.
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