Volleyball Pulls Off Reverse Sweep at UMass Dartmouth in Tuesday Non-Conference Action
Dartmouth, MA — The WPI volleyball team rallied from two sets down to secure the victory in reverse sweeping fashion against UMass Dartmouth in the Tripp Athletic Center on Tuesday night (24-26, 25-27, 25-20, 25-18, 15-10).
With the win, the Engineers improve to 6-2 while the Corsairs, the two-time defending Little East Conference (LEC) Champions, slip to 5-4.
First-year Olivia Hutchinson (Erie, PA) powered the Engineers with a team-high 17 kills, while classmate Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, FL) turned in a stellar all-around performance with 14 kills, 20 digs, and three aces.
Sophomore Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, NJ) chipped in 11 kills and three blocks, and junior Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) added five blocks at the net. Preslie Jerebker (Denver, CO) dished out 28 assists, while first-year Lauren Boycourt (San Diego, CA) contributed 23 assists in WPI's dual-setting approach. Senior Alana Harris (Lowell, MA), who was named the NEWMAC Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week earlier this week, finished with 17 digs to steady the back row.
UMass Dartmouth was led by junior Allison Pate (Sebring, FL), who posted a match-high 19 kills, and sophomore Olivia Seutter (Mesa, AZ), who added 17 kills. Junior Skye Peters (Albuquerque, NM) directed the Corsair offense with 34 assists, while senior Sabrina Bordone (Massapequa, NY) chipped in 16 assists. Senior Emily Pogorelec (Wayne, NJ) led all players defensively with 28 digs, joined by Pate with 27, while first-year Aleek Kuot (Beverly, MA) paced the block with five stuffs.
The Corsairs edged the opener in extra points as Pate and Seutter fueled the attack. WPI rallied late with kills from Hutchinson and Spees but fell short as a Neyman block sealed the frame.
Another tight battle saw UMass Dartmouth prevail. VanDamme gave WPI momentum with two blocks that trimmed the deficit to 15-14, but Peters orchestrated a late Corsair push capped by a Seutter kill to put the hosts up 2-0.
Facing elimination, the Engineers regrouped. Kelnik delivered three kills during a 6-1 surge that swung the set in WPI's favor, and the Engineers rode steady passing to close out the frame and stay alive.
Hutchinson erupted for five kills in the stanza, while Spees added two aces and six digs to spark the Crimson and Gray. A VanDamme and Hutchinson block gave WPI a commanding 22-16 advantage en route to forcing a fifth set.
The deciding set was even at 10-10 before Harris and Spees kept rallies alive defensively. Kelnik supplied three of the Engineers' final five points, and Welcher added a block at 13-12 to set up Hutchinson for the match-clinching swing.
The Engineers return to Worcester on Wednesday night to host Tufts at 6pm before traveling to Western New England on Saturday for a tri-match with the Golden Bears and Keene State. UMass Dartmouth stays at home and will host Bowdoin on Friday in a non-conference match scheduled for 7pm.
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