Lancers Pick Up Pair of Wins on Homecoming Saturday

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University volleyball team picked up a sweep on their home court on Homecoming Saturday, as they downed Mass. Maritime 3-0 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest, and then cruised past the Pine Manor College Gators 3-0 in their second contest of the day. With the wins, the Lancers advance to 11-13 overall and 2-2 in MASCAC play.

GAME ONE: Worcester State 3, Mass. Maritime 0

The Lancers earned their first victory of the afternoon as they pushed past the Buccaneers 3-0 with set scores of 25-9, 25-13, and 25-10. In the Lancers first set victory, they attained a game-high team attack percentage of .351, while the Buccaneers were held to nil.

Worcester State's Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) registered a game-high 16 kills with a game-best .556 attack percentage. The Lancers' Sarah Powers (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Caleigh Davis (Acushnet, Mass.) generated eight and six kills, respectively, as the freshman marked a .500 attack percentage. Davis accumulated 11 digs, while Katrina Kangwijaya (Dunstable, Mass.) led the team with 15. Alexandra Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) tallied 27 helpers, while she also dug up seven balls.

For the Buccaneers, both Emma Ethier (Norton, Mass.) and Charleen Klangos (Lowell, Mass.) collected a team-best three kills apiece, while Etiher picked up a team-high six assists. On the defensive end for Mass. Maritime was Marie Harrison (Weymouth, Mass.) who racked up 10 digs.

GAME TWO: Mass. Maritime 3, Pine Manor 0

After falling to the Lancers in their first game of the day, the Buccaneers came back for a split as they defeated the Pine Manor Gators 3-0 with set scores of 25-15, 25-21, and 25-20. After they pulled off their largest margin of victory in the first set, the Buccaneers accomplished their team's highest attack percentage of the day in the second set at .320, helping overcome a tie game halfway through the contest.

Leading the Buccaneers' scoring was Klangos who mustered a game-high 14 kills with an attack percentage of .323. Jennifer Roy (Attleboro, Mass.) followed with 10 kills while Harrison and Meaghan Brain (Hanson, Mass.) pitched in three apiece. Etiher once again led the team in assists with 23, while Harrison and Christina Ruggeri (Bourne, Mass.) contributed 11 and 10 digs each.

For the Gators, Viyanni Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev.) collected a team-high 11 kills and grabbed the team's best attack percentage at .167. Ashely Whitesheild (Seward, Alaska) grabbed a team-best 16 helpers and six service aces, while Alexa Leon (El Centro, Calif.) held down the defense with 15 digs.

GAME THREE: Worcester State 3, Pine Manor 0

Worcester State finished the homecoming series with a 3-0 victory over the Pine Manor College Gators as the team accumulated 34 kills with a .417 attack percentage. The set scores read 25-11, 25-11, 25-13 all in the favor of the Lancers.

Worcester State's Carens once again led the team with a game-high nine kills and a .571 attack percentage. Second on the team in kills was Davis who tallied eight for a kill percentage of .545. Also above the .500 attack margin was Quinn Donovan (Marion, Mass.) with four kills and Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) with one. Nolan and Katie Gagnon (Hampden, Mass.) picked up 13 and 10 assists, respectively, while Kangwijaya held the defensive down with a match-best 10 digs.

For the Gators, both Keisha Hadorn (Yokosuka, Japan) and Johnson marked four kills and a solo block apiece. Assisting the offense was Whiteshield who collected seven assists. Leon once again led the defense with a team-best eight digs.

The Lancer return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 19) when they travel to MCLA for a MASCAC matchup scheduled for 7:00 p.m.