WORCESTER -- The WPI volleyball suffered its first loss of the 2021 campaign on Tuesday evening, falling to city rival Clark 3-1 in the NEWMAC opener for both squads.  The Cougars claimed the win by set scores of 25-15, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20. 

It looked like the Engineers (8-1) were going to go down to defeat in quick fashion, trailing 2-0 and down 17-12 in the third set but a kill by Paige Garland (Nashua, NH) and a serving sequence by Suela Miloshi (Needham, MA featuring three service aces and six straight points sparked a 13-3 set-closing run.  The Crimson and Gray threatened to send the match to a fifth and deciding set by grabbing a 19-18 advantage in the fourth set, by the hosts rattled off seven of the last eight point to secure the victory. 

Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, NH) stuffed the stat sheet for WPI with team-highs of 13 kills, 14 digs and a season-best seven blocks. Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) contributed seven kills and Garland added five.  Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) dished out 21 assists, Jia Yazon (South Windsor, CT) reached double digits in digs with 11 and Miloshi led all players with a match-high six aces. 

Claudia Rivera (Guaynabo, PR) amassed 21 kills for the Cougars (7-1) while Sofia Scherrer del Llano (Guaynabo, PR) chipped in with 10.  Yvanna Torres (San Juan, PR) totaled 31 assists and Marimo Oka (Fukuoka, Japan) collected 15 digs. 

WPI concludes its conference-opening two-game road trip on Saturday at 1pm at Emerson.