BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomores Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) and Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.) each recorded double-doubles and classmate Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) hit .421 as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team outlasted Western New England, 3-2, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinal played at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the fourth-seeded Leopards notch their first postseason victory in program history and advance to play to-seeded Roger Williams in a semifinal match Thursday at 7:00 p.m., in Bristol, R.I. The Golden Bears see their season come to a close with a 16-14 record. The Black & Gold will be making the program's first-ever semifinal appearance.
Western New England opened the first set on a 7-2 run, capped off by a sophomore Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) kill. A service error and a kill Rogoz brought Wentworth to within three at 7-4. The Golden Bears scored the next two points, which was followed by a ball handling error and a kill from Quick to make it 9-6. A kill from senior Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.) brought the lead to 15-10, however, Wentworth scored the next eight points and took an 18-15 lead on an attack error. The Golden Bears countered with the next five points, taking a 20-18 lead after a service error. Back-to-back errors tied the score at 20-all, however Western new England scored the next five points to take a 25-20 win. Holmes had four kills in the set for the Golden Bears. Rogoz had three and a pair of blocks for the Leopards.
The hosts took a 5-2 lead to open the second set, thanks in part to kills from Lassiter, Rogoz, and senior Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.). Wentworth increased its lead to 10-6 after an attack error, however Western New England used a 6-2 run and tied the set at 12-all on back-to-back kills from senior Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.). That would be the first of six ties before a kill from Quick and an attack error gave Wentworth a 19-17 lead. Those two points started a 7-0 run which gave the Leopards a 24-17 lead, capped off by a block from Lassiter and Rogoz. Western New England got a kill and an ace to make it 24-19, however a senior Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) kill evened the match at a set apiece as the Black & Gold prevailed, 25-19. Rogoz had five kills in the set and Quick added three, while freshman Abigail Bundy (Lebanon, Conn.) had four kills for Western New England.
After falling behind, 3-1, to start the third set, Wentworth used a 7-1 run to take an 8-4 lead after a kill from Rogoz. Wentworth increased its lead to 13-7 before three straight points, capped off by an ace from Kornberg made it 13-10. Quick and Rogoz made it 15-10 and a service error made it 17-12 in favor of the Leopards. A kill from senior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) made it 19-13. The Golden Bears got back-to-back kills from Heffer to pull within four at 19-15, but a Rogoz kill from the back row started a 6-0 run to close the set, which ended on a Lassiter kill, 25-19, and gave Wentworth a 2-1 lead. Lassiter had four kills on seven swings without an error to lead the Leopards, while Rogoz had three kills. Heffer and senior Emmaline Chiodini (St. Louis, Mo.) had two kills apiece for Western New England.
The Golden Bears jumped out to a 4-1 lead to open the fourth set as Chiodini had three kills. Wentworth pulled within a point three times, including when Young and Rogoz combined for a block to make it 7-6. Western New England scored the next three points to make it 10-7 and increased its lead to 12-8 after a block from Holmes and Chiodini. The visitors' lead went to 15-10 after a kill from Chiodini, however Wentworth scored three of the next four points to make it 16-13 after a Rogoz kill. Scoring five of the next six points, Western New England extended the lead to 21-14 before kills from Shea and Quick made it 21-16. The Golden Bears forced the deciding set with a 25-17 win. Chiodini had six kills on 12 swings without an error for Western New England. Quick had four kills and Rogoz had three kills and two blocks for Wentworth.
Kills from Lassiter and Rogoz, combined with an attack error gave Wentworth a 3-0 lead to open the fifth set. After junior Jenna Ferguson (Ellington, Conn.) got the Golden bears on the Board, the Leopards got kills from Lassiter and Rogoz to make it 5-1. Ferguson answered with a kill to make it 5-2 before Wentworth scored four straight points, increasing the lead to 9-2 and never looked back, taking the 3-2 decision with a 15-4 win. Wentworth hit .389 in the deciding frame while forcing Western New England to hit -.087.
Rogoz finished with 16 kills, 17 digs, and seven blocks while Quick had 10 kills and 25 digs. Lassiter's .421 attack percentage came on nine kills with just one error in 19 swings and she also had a pair of block assists. Shea finished with seven kills and seven digs, Young had a pair of kills and five blocks, sophomore Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) had 22 assists, sophomore Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) had 16 helpers, junior Lillie Clark (Visa, Calif.) served three aces, and sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had 21 digs.
Chiodini led Western New England with 22 kills while Holmes added nine kills and four blocks. Bundy had seven kills and three blocks, Kornberg had five kills, three aces, and 14 digs, Heffer had six kills, sophomore Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) had 39 assists and 27 digs, and senior Brianna Roth (Jackson, N.J.) had 31 digs.
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