Lancers Open up Season at Great Lakes Crossover Tournament

Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Volleyball team starts their season with a double battle in Ohio at the Cedar Point Sports Center in Sandusky, Ohio. The lancers kick off their day with a battle with Mt. St. Joseph at 3pm and closed out the opening day at the Great Lake Cross Over with a 7pm meeting with Worcester/Wooster meeting.

Final- Match 1

Worcester State: 0

Mt. St. Joseph: 3

Final- Match 2

Worcester State: 1

Wooster: 3

How it Happened:

The opening match action found MT. St. Joseph grabbed an early lead before a service error awarded the Lancers their first points. The Lions managed to regain control of the action in the opening set as Worcester managed to steal some points in the action. A late first set surge by Worcester saw a sophomore Beatrice Gamboa-Estrella (Simi Valley, CA) serve an ace and the Worcester pressure forced an attacking error with their defensive pressure to cut into the Lyons lead. Mt. St. Joseph would hold in the attack for the 25-11 win. 

Set two action would see the Lyons open up the scoring but a kill by Gamboa-Estrella would keep Worcester within sight. The match would be a back and forth battle until Mt. St. Joseph went on 11-2 point run that pushed them to 15-5 lead. Worcester would aim to battle back but would ultimately fall 25-16.

The final set of the match would be a gritty fight between the two team with a 17-17 tie into the final action. A junior Isabella Melo (Webster, MA) kill would provide Worcester the lead late in the set but a late run by the Lyons would provide a three point lead that they were able to build upon. Worcester would stay on the hunt but be unable to overcome the gap, falling in the final set 25-19.

Sophomore Katherine Crateau (North Andover, MA) would lead the team with seven digs while Gamboa-Estralla claimed four kills in the match. 

Match two saw the Lancers finding their winning ways as senior Cassidy D'Esposito (Medford, NY) would get that action rolling with an opening kill. First year Maggie Luke (Chelmsford, MA) would help out in the scoring to take the two point lead and carry the momentum in the set. Wooster would grab a short lead but the Lancers would battle back behind the service of senior Jillian Gross (Millville, MA) to take the 25-21 victory.

The second set would open up as all Wooster but the Lancers behind the service of first Reece Connors (Fresno, CA) would tie the match back up at eight. Another late surge would extend the lead for Wooster and while Worcester would aim to come back, the Fighting Scots would hold off the late surge for the 25-20.

The third set would be a continuation of the second with each team grabbing points. Wooster would again surge ahead in the middle of the set but the Lancers would again cut the lead down to just two points behind Melo's service. The Fighting Scots and Lancers traded points back and forth but Wooster held on for the 25-20 win. 

The fourth set would find Gamboa-Estrella leading the charge with Worcester grabbing a 6-0 lead. The Fighting Scots lived up to their names and fought their way back into the set and claimed the lead back from Worcester. Melo would again have a dominant service charge to lead the Lancers back to the lead, but a late back and forth battle would find the Fighting Scots the ultimate set and match winners with a final 27-25 finish. 

Crateau would again lead the digs game for the Lancers with 18 while Gamboa-Estrella claimed 11 kills and five service aces in the match.

What's Next:

The Blue and Gold (0-2, 0-0) continue their Great Lake Crossovers tomorrow as they face off with Kalamazoo at 10am and Alma at noon to wrap up their trip to Ohio.