Women's Volleyball Edges Colby-Sawyer

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Senior Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) put down 11 kills and hit .360 as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team outlasted Colby-Sawyer, 3-2, in non-conference action Thursday night.

RECORDS:

• Wentworth (1-2)
• Colby-Sawyer (1-4)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Riley Waggoner, 11; Ema Thompson, 6; Helen Barthe, 6
• Assists – Lexi Zabloudil, 12; Ashley Cao, 9
• Aces – Ashley Cao, 3; Ema Thompson, 3
• Digs – Peyton Tague, 15; Ashley Cao, 7; Helen Barthe, 7
• Blocks – Vivian Goulet, 2

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth took a 1-0 lead after the first set with a 26-24 win. The Leopards held the lead in the early going before Colby-Sawyer used a 9-4 spurt to take a 15-10 lead. Four straight points from the Black & Gold brought Wentworth back within one, however, the Chargers extended their lead to 20-16 after a kill. The Leopards got four straight points, including two kills from Waggoner, to tie the set at 20-all. The hosts held a 24-23 lead, however, Wentworth staved off set point on a kill from sophomore Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) and Thompson's second consecutive kill, followed by a Charger error gave Wentworth the lead.
• Colby-Sawyer raced out to an 11-3 lead in the second set before Wentworth crawled back to within a pair, thanks to a 12-6 spurt. However, the hosts ended the set on an 8-2 run and tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 win.
• The Leopards took a 2-1 lead after taking the third set, 25-22. Wentworth took a 13-7 lead on a Waggoner kill and upped its lead to 15-8 on an ace from sophomore Lexi Zabloudil (London, Ohio). The Chargers pulled within one at 19-18, however, three straight Colby-Sawyer errors made it 22-18. The hosts tried to make one last run, pulling within a pair at 24-22, however the Black & Gold fended off the charge.
• Colby-Sawyer tied the match at 2-all and forced the deciding fifth set with a 25-17 win in the fourth set, a set that saw the hosts hit .417 and force Wentworth to hit -.087. The Chargers jumped out to a 7-2 lead before the Leopards clawed back to within three (9-6) on an ace from Waggoner. Colby-Sawyer extended its lead to 21-13 before closing out the set.
• For the third straight match, a deciding set was needed. However, unlike Wentworth's first two matches, the Leopards prevailed. After an attack error gave Colby-Sawyer a 1-0 lead to open the set, Wentworth scored the next five points, taking a 5-1 lead on a setting error. The Chargers pulled within one at 6-5 but the Leopards responded with five straight points and never looked back, taking the match with a 15-8 win.

THE SERIES:

• Tonight was 18th all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth has won the last two meetings while Colby-Sawyer leads, 16-2.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is Norwich for a tri-match with MCLA and the Cadets on Saturday.

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