Worcester State Volleyball Earns a Pair of Victories

BOSTON – With a pair of victories the Worcester State University women's volleyball team evened its record to 4-4 as the Lancers defeated Lesley (3-2) and Wentworth (3-0) in a tri-match hosted by the Leopards. The day's first match saw the Lynx defeat Wentworth, 3-1.

Lesley  3, Wentworth 1
After dropping the opening set, Lesley went onto capture the second, third and fourth stanzas to claim a non-conference win against the Leopards by scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-13. Sophomore Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) paced the visitors with nine kills, while tallying 10 digs, and one service ace. Senior Jessie Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) registered a team-high 15 digs, while classmate Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) recorded a 28 assists.

Leopard senior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) posted a double-double of 13 kills and 13 digs, while sophomore Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) recorded 24 assists to go along with eight digs and a trio of service aces. Freshman Sarah Hyndman (Encinitas, Calif.) had six kills, three aces, and junior Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) registered three kills.

Both teams kept things close in the opening session, but a service error late in the stanza resulted in a five-point surge for the Leopards who went onto capture the initial set. Lesley and Wentworth remained close throughout a majority of the second set with neither team pushing ahead by more than one or two points. Lesley sophomore Sarah Hollis (Hudson, Mass.) clinched the second set with back-to-back kills late in the frame, which evened the match at one apiece.
 
Abbruzzese kept momentum on Lesley's side as the third set commenced, recording her team's first kill, which led to a seven-point surge. Lesley's 7-1 cushion was evened over the next few serves as a pair of serving aces by Carlson evened the score at 8-8. The Lynx responded with a pair of three-point runs to push ahead, 18-11, but Wentworth stormed back following an attack error that brought the hosts within six points (24-18). Reynolds ended the comeback with a kill set-up by Marden.
 
Lesley again claimed an early lead in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-4 advantage following an attack error by Bailey. Wentworth did trim the deficit off two serving errors; however, Lesley regrouped, utilizing a 12-6 run mid-way through the set.

Worcester State 3, Lesley 2
Trailing, 2-1, heading into the fourth stanza, Worcester State rallied back, evening the match at two games apiece before senior Meghan Deighan (Lynnfield, Mass.) secured the win with a kill over the middle. The Lancers defeated the Lynx by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 15-11.
 
Worcester State junior Jamika Townsend (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded 48 assists, along with 17 digs, eight kills and three aces. Senior Jennifer Cabral (Swansea, Mass.) had 15 kills and hit .268, while junior Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied 10 kills and hit .273.
 
Marden paced the Lynx with 39 assists, but also tallied 15 digs, four kills and one serving ace. Abbruzzese led Lesley with 14 kills and recorded seven digs, and senior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Penn.) recorded a team-high 21 digs.
 
Worcester State never trailed in the fourth stanza, jumping out to an 8-3 lead following a service ace by freshman Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.). Lesley trimmed the deficit with three consecutive points off a trio of serves by senior Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) to pull within one point. Both teams swapped points over the next few serves before a kill by Hoyle late in the session helped the Lancers even the match.
 
The Lancers' momentum continued early in the fifth set as Worcester State jumped out to a 5-1 lead off a quartet of serves by Townsend. Lesley did close the gap as both teams swapped points over the next few serves, but the Lynx's comeback was short-lived as Townsend set up Deighan for the game-winning kill.
 
Worcester State 3, Wentworth 0
Townsend led Worcester State with 24 assists, freshman Elexi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) had 11 digs, and Carens recorded eight kills as the Lancers captured their match against the Leopards in straight sets, winning by scores of 25-15, 25-19, 25-15.
 
Bailey and sophomore Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) each recorded six kills, while Clark had a team-high 14 digs. Freshman Kiera VanGulden (East Meadow, N.Y.) hit.500, while Bailey, sophomore Kayla Gendreau (Hudson, N.H.) and freshman Abagail Ahern (Barrington, N.H.) each recorded one service ace.
 
Back-to-back kills by Miskiv and Hoyle jumpstarted a 12-2 run midway through the opening session that provided the Lancers with a 1-0 lead heading into the second set. Wentworth kept pace with Worcester State during the second set, staging a late rally with a kill apiece from Shea and Young before the Lancers halted the comeback and clinched the session with a kill by Deighan over the middle.
 
Similar to the third set, Wentworth kept pace with Worcester State, but a kill by Deighan initiated a seven-point run to clinch the match.

All three teams return to action next week as Wentworth (4-7) will host University of New England on Wednesday, September 23 at 7:00 p.m., while Lesley (3-6) entertains Emmanuel College and Worcester State travels to Bay Path College on Tuesday, September 22 with both matches scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m.

Release Courtesy of Wentworth Sports Information