Volleyball Earns Eleventh Straight Win as they Defeat UMass Dartmouth, 3-1

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Worcester State overwhelmed University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the fourth after three contentious previous sets, rising above for a 3-1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-22, 25-10) victory over the Corsairs at the Tripp Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

THE BASICS

October 12, 2017
Tripp Athletic Center
Score: Worcester State 3, UMass Dartmouth 1
Records: Worcester State (16-6) | UMass Dartmouth (8-11)

1^ST SET

An even 10-10 score in the first set gave way to eight of the next 10 points in favor of Worcester State with Lauren Murphy (Taunton, Mass.) and Katrina Kangwijaya (Dunstable, Mass.) at the service. With the margin 24-19 in favor of the Lancers, Amanda LaCroix (East Freetown, Mass.) put away a kill and served to another point, but Worcester State's Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.)  closed the set, 25-21.

2^ND SET

The Corsairs then made a resounding comeback in the second, paced by five kills from sophomore Colleen Riley (Mansfield, Mass.). Riley started the set off with a kill, later bumping UMass Dartmouth ahead 11-10 and kicking off a four-point Corsair streak. The hosts held strong to edge ahead 21-16 and force a Lancer timeout, and out of the break rattled of four of the final five with Riley's kill bookending the set for a 25-17 evener.

3^RD SET

Worcester State used its highest attack percentage yet in the third set, hitting .200 to battle out a 25-22 go-ahead point. Following a nine-all tie, the Lancers went ahead 15-10 on a kill by Carens but the Corsairs stayed consistent to draw back even at 21. The visitors then claimed four of the last five points.

4^TH SET

The fourth then spelled all Lancers, with Worcester State overwhelming the hosts with 12 kills on 27 attempts and just two attack errors. Junior Megan Leavens (Storrs, Conn.) served her team to a 7-0 start to eventually claim the 25-10 decider.

DIG THE DIGITS

• Three Lancers combined for 38 of their team's 48 kills, including a match-high 16 by junior Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) on a .342 attack percentage. Sophomore Stephanie Chapin (Hampden, Mass.) rattled off 12 kills on 25 attempts, with Carens totaling 10.
• Defensively, the Lancers were led by Leavens, Madison Kuzio (Franklin, Mass.), and Kangwijaya who posted 14-14-12 digs, respectively.
• Worcester State's Allie Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) put forth 42 assists, the highest individual total against the Corsairs so far this season.
• Sophomore libero Jillian Sykora (Waterford, Conn.) weathered the attack storm with a match-high 23 digs for UMass Dartmouth, as four others combined for 51 digs. Sophomore Nicole Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) put forth a team-high 12 kills with 16 digs and four service aces, with junior LaCroix adding 10 kills and 12 digs.
• The Corsairs' 42 kills marks their highest total in seven games, with 75 digs serving as UMass Dartmouth's best total since Sept. 14.
• The Lancers have now claimed the past four meetings between the two programs.
• Worcester State extends their winning streak to 11.

UP NEXT

The Blue and Gold return to action this weekend as they take part in a tri-match with Framingham State and Plymouth State in Framingham.

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Release Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information