Women's Volleyball Falls in Five Sets to Salve Regina in CCC Quarterfinal

BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team finished off their season Tuesday evening, dropping a 3-2 decision to Salve Regina University in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Quarterfinal.

RECORDS

• Wentworth (15-14, 6-4 CCC)
• Salve Regina (15-9, 7-3 CCC)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Lauren Edmiston, 13; Viviann Goulet, 9; Abby Maher, 9; Helen Barthe, 8
• Assists – Ashley Cao, 21; Lexi Zabloudil, 17; Megan Davies, 7
• Digs – Megan Davies, 18; Lexi Zabloudil, 13, Helen Barthe, 13
• Blocks – Lexi Zabloudil, 2; Lauren Edmiston, 2; Devin Neal, 2; Viviann Goulet, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Leopards started off hot, taking an early 4-1 lead following a pair of kills from junior Viviann Goulet (North Kingstown, R.I.). Goulet and freshman Helen Barthe (Blythewood, S.C.) picked up back-to-back kills shortly after, but Wentworth's four point lead was cut down to one after the Seahawks took four of the following five points. The Leopards held a three point lead after senior Devin Neal (Loveland, Ohio), who hit .556 during the match, and freshman Abby Maher (North Granby, Conn.) provided two kills, but Salve Regina rallied to take a 16-14 lead following a 7-2 run that was capped off by two service aces from the Seahawks' Brighton Solheim. However, three kills from Maher down the stretch were part of an 11-3 run for the Leopards to close out the set with a 25-19 victory in the opening set.
• Wentworth continued its strong play in the second set, starting off with a 7-3 lead following a kill by Goulet and aces from both Maher and freshman Lexi Zabloudil (London, Ohio). After extending the lead to six points, the Seahawks took eight of the next 10 points to tie the set at 12 apiece, thanks in part to a kill and two aces from Salve Regina's Nicole Karabaich. The Leopards answered with an 8-2 run, capped by two kills from Zabloudil to give Wentworth a 21-15 lead. The Seahawks were able to cut into the lead late, but the Leopards held them off and took a 25 -21 victory to go up two sets to zero in the match.
• Salve Regina came out strong to in the third set, and three consecutive kills from Karabaich helped the visitors open up a 7-2 lead. A pair of aces from Zabloudil and sophomore Megan Davies (Chandler, Ariz.) helped pull Wentworth closer, but with the score 15-13, the Seahawks ran off nine consecutive points to pull away in the third, and Salve Regina took the middle set 25-15 to get back in the match.
• The teams traded points to start off the fourth, and neither team was able to separate until Wentworth picked up three straight points to take an 11-8 lead. Karabaich picked up two more kills as the Seahawks rallied to take a 13-12 lead midway through the set. Shortly after, the Leopards took four straight to gain a three point lead, but Salve Regina came back to tie it at 18-18. With the home team leading 21-10 late, the Seahawks ran off four straight points to take the lead, then finished off the fourth set with a 25-22 victory to force a decisive fifth and final set.
• After dropping the first two points, the Leopards got a kill from Goulet and an ace from junior Chaise Kakuk (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) to tie the fifth set at 2-2. Salve Regina took three of the next four to take a 6-3 lead, but Wentworth came back to tie once again following kills from Maher and sophomore Lauren Edmiston (Hockessin, Del.). With the visitors holding a 12-10 lead, the Leopards took three of four to tie the set at 13-13, but the Seahawks rallied for the final two points, picking up a 15-13 win in the fifith set and winning the match 3-2.

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