Women’s Volleyball Wins Eighth Straight Game with Sweep of Hartford

BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team won its eighth straight game with a sweep of Hartford on Saturday afternoon. The Leopards improve to 19-4 overall and 7-1 in CNE action while Hartford falls to 7-14 and 2-6 in conference play. Wentworth won the sets 25-11, 25-19, and 25-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth took a 4-1 lead right out of the gate behind kills from Sanders, Kate McLane, and Ava Rocchio. Kills from Jenna Murphy and Nyanakuak Piok and an attack error gave the Hawks a 6-5 lead. The teams exchanged the next few points before Riley Schoonmaker's kill put the Leopards in front 11-7. The hosts maintained the lead and went on a 7-0 run with McLane and Sanders each picking up two kills, stretching the advantage to 11 points. Kinsey Lutz and Sanders recorded kills late before Kate Koliopoulos won the set with an ace.
• The Hawks had the lead early in the set, jumping in front 8-3 behind kills from Lauren Johnson and attack errors. An ace from Kayla DeCastro and kills from Sanders and Lutz brought the Leopards back within one. The hosts would take an 11-10 lead after back-to-back aces from Ainsley Gregson before Hartford jumped back in front by a point. The tightly contested set opened up when Sanders' back-to-back kills gave Wentworth the 21-16 advantage. The junior and McLane would combine for three kills to win the set 25-19.
• The second set was a milestone one for the Leopards as Sanders and Zweifler joined the 1,000 club, with Sanders tallying her 1,000^th career point and Zweifler recording her 1,000^th career dig at Wentworth.
• Hartford held a 4-3 lead in set three before Sanders tallied two quick kills to give the hosts the edge. Schoonmaker and Sydnee Smith came up with a block to push the lead to four before a 4-1 run from the Leopards stretched the lead to 14-7. Schoonmaker's tally made it a 22-12 game, but the Hawks battled back with a run of their own. Hartford's 6-1 run late brought them within five, but McLane and Smith halted the comeback and secured the 25-18 set win.
• Zweifler and Sanders each tallied 11 digs to lead the team while Sanders' 15 kills were a game high. McLane tallied 13 kills and hit .429 on the afternoon. Rocchio and Sanders had two blocks each while Smtih recorded a game-high and career-high 37 assists.

THE SERIES:

• Tonight was the 3rd all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth has won all three matchups.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth visits Curry on Wednesday.

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