Lasell Tops Women's Volleyball in Four Sets

NEWTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team (3-1) fell behind early and couldn't fight the momentum, being handed a four-set loss by Lasell (2-0) for their first loss of the season Tuesday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth sought out to a 3-2 lead in the first set thanks to kills from graduate student Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.), junior Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho), and freshman Kate McLane (Columbus, Ohio). After two kills from McLane continued the lead to 9-6, two services aces from freshman Olivia Vaughn (Bolingbrook, Ill.) extended the advantage to 11-6. Two kills from freshman Emma Sanders (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) helped bring the score to 16-12 until a flurry of errors brought the Lasers back, taking a 21-19 edge over the Leopards. Lasell notched key kills in the late portion of the first set, notching a 25-22 set win.
• A kill each by McLane and Sanders was part of a 4-0 run that the Leopards started the second set on. Kills by Waggoner, McLane, Thompson, and Sanders continued the lead to 9-2 before a kill by McLane later marked a 12-6 lead. Two kills within three plays by sophomore Riley Schoonmaker (Montgomery, N.Y.) carried the lead to 17-11 before a clump of errors by the Lasers and two kills from Thompson helped Wentworth grab a 25-15 set win, tying the match at one-all.
• After going down 1-0 in the third set, two straight kills by Sanders gave the Leopards a 2-1 edge. The two teams traded points until the Lasers pulled away with an 11-7 lead, followed by a 14-10 lead. A kill by Sanders and a Lasers error brought the score to a tie at 14 apiece. The teams swapped scores for most of the remainder of the set, until, after tied at 18, the Lasers pulled away to grab a 25-20 set win, taking a 2-1 match lead.
• Kills by McLane and Sanders gave the Leopards a solid 3-0 lead to begin the fourth set until the Lasers rattled off five straight points to take a 5-3 lead. Behind 11-9, a kill by McLane cut the Leopards' deficit to one until an error forced a tie at 11 points each. Wentworth eventually pulled away, stretching the lead to 17-14, until the Lasers came back to eventually cut the deficit and tie the match at 21-all. Tied at 22-22, a kill by McLane gave Wentworth a one-point edge. Behind by one, a crucial kill by Waggoner continued the set at a 26-25 score. The Lasers pulled away points afterward, holding on for a 31-29 set win and a 3-1 match win.

NOTEWORTHY:

• McLane led her team in kills for the third time in her debut season, tallying a career-high 20.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards travel to Emmanuel Saturday morning.
  

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