Balanced Attack Pushes Women's Volleyball Past WPI, Elms

BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team (3-0) continued their winning ways into Saturday, defeating visiting WPI (1-2) in four sets and sweeping Elms (0-3), backed by a balanced attack in both non-conference contests.

 
MATCH ONE: WENTWORTH 3, WPI 1

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Kills from freshman Kate McLane (Columbus, Ohio) and sophomore Riley Schoonmaker (Montgomery, N.Y) put Wentworth ahead 3-1early into the first set. The Leopards extended their lead to 7-4 with two kills from junior Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) before stretching the lead to 12-5 on two kills from graduate student Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.). McLane and Thompson's two kills apiece helped push the advantage to 17-8. WPI fought back to a 22-17 deficit, but two kills from McLane clinched Wentworth a 25-17 set win.
• Tied at two apiece, freshman Emma Sanders (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) shot a kill that gave the hosts a 3-2 edge in the second set. The two teams traded points until WPI took a 10-7 lead. Down 15-10, another Sanders kill dwindled the deficit to four. Errors brought Wentworth back into the set, a 15-14 score, but WPI held on, never surrendering the lead until taking a 25-20 set win, tying the match at one apiece.
• Four kills from Sanders got the Black & Gold out to a 5-2 lead in the third set before a kill from Waggoner pushed the advantage to 8-4. A McLane kill continued the lead to 12-8 before a kill by Thompson helped push the lead to 19-10. Kills by Waggoner and McLane helped the Leopards snag a 25-19 set win and a 2-1 match win.
• The two teams traded points in the fourth set, crawling the score up to 9-9, before WPI separated themselves in a 13-10 score. Kills by Waggoner and McLane brought the Leopards back, down 16-14, before kills by Sanders and freshman Olivia Vaughn (Bolingbrook, Ill.) tied the match at 17-all. Two kills by Sanders and another by McLane pushed Wentworth away from WPI, letting the hosts take a 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Leopards have won two of the last three matchups.

MATCH TWO: WENTWORTH 3, ELMS 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Behind 1-0, kills from juniors Ashley Cao (Morrisville, N.C.) and Helen Barthe (Bythewood, S.C.) gave the hosts a 2-1 edge. After holding a 7-5 lead, the Blazers came back to grab a 9-7 lead, just before a kill by junior Abby Maher (North Granby, Conn.) helped the Leopards tie the set at nine apiece. The two teams traded points until two consecutive kills from freshman Savannah Morford (Darien, Ill.) gave Wentworth a 15-13 advantage. Wentworth never surrendered their lead following, with kills from Barthe and Cao helping clinch the hosts a 25-18 set win.
• The Leopards started the second set on a 3-0 run thanks to kills from Maher and Barthe and a service ace by Cao. An ace by Barthe helped extend the lead to 8-3 later before a kill by Cao continued the lead to 10-7 after a slight push from Elms. Kills from Waggoner and Morford gave Wentworth a 15-11 advantage before the Blazers rattled off eight straight points, taking a 19-15 lead before a Barthe kill ended the run. Two kills from Barthe and another from Morford helped the Leopards complete the comeback, taking a 26-24 set win and a commanding 2-0 match lead.
• A string of service aces by the Leopards paired with kills from Morford and freshman Kayle DeCastro (Miami, Fla.) put Wentworth ahead, 8-2. Kills from DeCastro and Maher helped extend the lead to 14-4 while a route of four service aces from DeCastro propped the Leopards to take a commanding 25-6 set win and a 3-0 match win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Wentworth is undefeated against the Blazers, holding a 3-0 all-time record.

NEXT UP:

• The Black & Gold visit Lasell on Tuesday.

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