Volleyball Splits Home-Opening Tri-Match Against Lasell and Plymouth State
WORCESTER --- WPI Volleyball welcomed Lasell and Plymouth State to the WPI Sports & Recreation Center on Saturday for a non-conference tri-match. The Engineers battled in two tight matches on their home court, squaring off with Lasell in the opener and Plymouth State in the closer, while the Lasers and Panthers met in the middle contest.
The Engineers move to 4-2 after the home-opening tri-match as Lasell stands at 5-0 and Plymouth State sits at 2-4.
Match 1 — WPI vs. Lasell
Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, NJ) paced WPI with nine kills while Kylie Welcher (Los Angeles, CA) owned the net with four blocks, but the Engineers were edged by Lasell in three tight sets, 25-23, 27-25, 25-22.
The opener belonged to Lasell early, as the Lasers raced out 4-1 behind finishes from Victoria Pariseault (Exeter, RI), Shantte Siliezar (Puerto Cortes, Honduras), and Andrea Aceituno (Tegucigalpa, Honduras), before Amelia Lynch (Charlottesville, VA) delivered WPI's first kill to steady the Engineers. WPI quickly drew level at 4-4 after a Kelnik and Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) block, and the set stayed within a point or two the rest of the way until Lasell closed on a 3-0 finish, punctuated by Morgan Bogli (Rockville, CT) on set point for 25–23.
Set two was a swing-fest. Lasell made it 8–5, but WPI answered with runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to surge in front 15-11 behind Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, FL) and VanDamme. The Lasers clawed back to 19-19, and after trading points, WPI dug out of 22-24 with a Spees kill, a Lasell attack error, and another Spees finish, both set by Preslie Jerebker (Denver, CO) to reach 25-24. Lasell had the final word, however, taking the next three for 27-25, with Sydney Katz (Ridgefield, CT) and Siliezar keying the close.
In the third, WPI pieced together a 3-0 mid-set burst to go up 10-4 featuring two Spees kills and a Welcher block, but the Lasers answered late and finished the match with a 4-0 closer including two kills by Siliezar followed by back-to-back service aces from Bogli to seal the match at 25-22.
Match 2 — Lasell vs. Plymouth State
Lasell and Plymouth State went the distance in the day's neutral match, with the Lasers prevailing in a five-set thriller, 25-16, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13.
The Panthers battled back after dropping the first two sets, using the steady play of Ella Koelb (Auburn, NH) and Sya McKay (Somersworth, NH), who each tallied 11 kills to force a decisive fifth. In the finale, Lasell leaned once again on its top attackers as Trinity Silva (Atascadero, CA) and Andrea Aceituno (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) shared match-high honors with 14 kills apiece to guide the Lasers to the narrow victory.
Match 3 — WPI vs. Plymouth State
Kelnik tallied a team-high 13 kills while VanDamme contributed a match-best six blocks, but WPI clinched the five-set thriller to Plymouth State in the tri-match finale inside the Sports & Recreation Center. The Engineers prevailed 3-2 by set scores of 12-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-21, 17-15.
Plymouth State came out flying in the opening frame, using a 7-0 surge to grab control as McKay hammered down the first two kills of the match, Koelb added another, and Danielle Emerson (Biddeford, ME) delivered an ace. Kelnik finally put WPI on the board with the Engineers' first kill at 7-1, but the Panthers stayed in rhythm and rolled to a 25-12 win.
The second set swung back and forth with neither side able to separate. Spees and VanDamme led the Crimson and Gray attack, while Koelb kept the Panthers close. Knotted at 24-24, WPI strung together consecutive points as Spees and Fiona Gillis (Milford, MA) powered the Engineers to a 26-24 victory to even the match.
Plymouth regained momentum in the third, building an early cushion behind Koelb and McKay. The Panthers never let up, stretching their lead into double digits and taking the set 25-15 for a 2-1 match advantage.
WPI answered once more in the fourth, leaning on VanDamme's presence at the net and steady swings from Hutchinson and Kelnik. The Engineers pulled ahead late and secured the 25-21 win to push the contest to a decisive fifth set.
The finale was as dramatic as it gets. Alice Borriello Diaz (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) rattled off three consecutive aces to put the Panthers on the brink at 14-12, but WPI answered with poise. A service error made it 14-13, and a Spees and VanDamme block of Koelb leveled the score at 14-all. Another Koelb miscue gave the Engineers the lead, though Plymouth tied it at 15. From there, VanDamme buried a kill for 16-15, and Spees and Hutchinson combined on a block to clinch the 17-15 victory and the match for the Crimson and Gray.
Kelnik paced WPI with 13 kills, while VanDamme notched 10 kills, and six blocks. Spees added 10 kills and Gillis chipped in nine. For the Panthers, Koelb was dominant with 21 kills, McKay recorded 12 kills, three blocks, and two aces, and Borriello Diaz energized Plymouth with seven service aces to go along with seven kills.
All squads hit the road for non-conference matches on Tuesday as WPI (4-2) will take on the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth, Lasell (5-0) heads to Emerson and Plymouth State (2-4) at Norwich.
Box Score: WPI vs Lasell
Box Score: Lasell vs Plymouth State
Box Score: WPI vs Plymouth State
Latest Athletics SideArm News RSS
- WPI Athletics Mourns the Passing of Former Athletics Director Ray GilbertWORCESTER -- WPI Athletics has recently learned that Ray Gilbert, longtime WPI Director of Physical Education and Athletics, passed away on August 20th. Gilbert had served in that role for 15 years from 1987 until his retirement in 2002.
- No. 11 Amherst Stuns Field Hockey with Pair of Late Goals to Survive in OvertimeAmherst, MA --- Down 1-0 for most of the match, nationally-ranked Amherst leaned on a late equalizer from first-year Emma Zhang (St. Louis, MO) and an overtime goal from sophomore Caroline Busler (Greenwich, CT) to pick up a 2-1 win against visiting WPI in a non-conference field hockey match-up on Wednesday night at Hill Field.
- Volleyball Falls to Tufts in Midweek Non-Conference PlayWORCESTER -- The WPI volleyball team was turned back in straight sets by visiting Tufts in non-conference action on Wednesday evening inside the WPI Sports & Recreation Center by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-12.
- Women’s Soccer Derailed by Nationally-Ranked Wesleyan at H. Carr FieldWORCESTER -- Maria Utz registered her first career hat trick to lift No. 12 Wesleyan to a 3-0 victory over host WPI in a non-conference women's soccer match played Wednesday evening on H. Carr Field at Alumni Stadium.
- Volleyball Pulls Off Reverse Sweep at UMass Dartmouth in Tuesday Non-Conference ActionDartmouth, 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).
- Coutts Second Half Tally from McLoughlin Levels Men's Soccer's Road Match at DeanFranklin, MA --- Anthony Coutts' goal in the 60th minute was the equalizer for WPI as the Engineers hit the road Tuesday afternoon and played to a 1-1 draw with host Dean in a non-conference men's soccer match played on Longley Field.
