Boston, MA --- The WPI volleyball team split another pair of matches in Boston this weekend starting the day off with a 3-0 sweep of Emerson (25-23, 25-17, 28-26) before falling to UMass Dartmouth 3-1 in the middle game of the tri-match (25-23, 11-25, 15-25, 9-25). 
 
The Engineers are now 4-7 on the season and 1-1 in conference action, picking up their first NEWMAC win of the season against Emerson. Emerson falls to 7-4 on the year and 0-2 in conference play and UMass Dartmouth improves to 7-5 in 2023. 
 
Match 1: WPI 3, Emerson 0
Despite the sweep of the Lions, Emerson battled in every set as WPI came away with a pair of two-point set wins on the day. 
 
Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) paced the Engineers in the kill department with 11 in the match while Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) and Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA) split the helper duties with 14 and 12 respectively. Reynolds added a trio of aces while Emily Hudson (Melrose, MA) finished the match with three blocks and Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) piled on 16 digs.
 
Emerson's Parker Cummings (Rochester, NY) led all players with 15 kills, also adding eight digs on the day. Caroline Davis (Orlando, FL) added 16 digs, four aces, and three assists on the day while Mia Rodriguez (Palmetto Bay, FL) finished with 24 assists. 
 
Set one featured a back-and-forth affair between the two squads. Despite WPI's 5-1 start to the match, Emerson battled back in it taking a 7-5 lead off the serve of Davis. Neither team would have more than a two-point advantage until Emerson gained a 22-18 advantage forcing the Engineers to call a timeout. WPI regrouped and finished out the set on a 7-0 run thanks to Eldridge's serve and a trio of kills from Deckers. 
 
A 7-0 run in the beginning of set number two proved to be the deciding factor, as the Engineers built up a 12-5 lead and the Engineers added another eight-straight points at the conclusion of the match to walk away with a 25-17 win. 
 
Set three featured another nailbiter. This time Emerson got out to a 5-1 advantage, later building that lead to 10-5 before the Engineers chipped away and utilized a 5-0 run on the serve of Reynolds, taking advantage of four-straight errors from the Lions to make it a 15-all game. 
 
Emerson, once again, looked on the verge of victory, gaining a 22-17 advantage late, but WPI ralled back making it a 22-21 game. Emerson had three-straight set points, but WPI evened the score at 24-all thanks to a Deckers kill, huge ace from Alana Harris (Lowell, MA) and an Emerson attack error. But it was a Reynolds kill that got WPI the ball back at 26-all, and it was Reynolds serve that closed out the game 28-26 with an ace to punctuate the victory. 
 
Match 2: UMass Dartmouth 3, WPI 1
Reynolds led the way in game two with a double-double that included a team-leading 16 assists and 10 kills, as well as two aces, and a block, also piling on 18 digs. Eldridge added 15 helpers and Escuer tacked on 22 digs. 
 
The Corsairs were led by Devon Laing's (El Dorado Hills, CA) game-high 11 kills while Emily Pogorelec (Wayne, NJ) added 24 digs and five aces. and Skye Peters (Albuquerque, NM) and Sabrina Bordone (Massapequa, NY) finished with 16 and 15 assists respectively. Maggie Sullivan (Acton, MA) put up four blocks. 
 
WPI earned another two-point set victory in set number one. Despite an early 7-4 lead by the Corsairs, WPI battled back to even it up at 8-all and gained a 15-12 lead thanks to Eldrige which forced UMass Dartmouth into a timeout. The Corsairs evened the score, and then took an 18-15 lead, but WPI battled back once again and regained a 23-22 lead off of a kill by Deckers, a kill by Reynolds and a block from Reynolds. Reynolds would close out set one with a slam for the 25-23 win. 
 
But UMass would control the remaining sets as they started set two on an 8-1 run, later gathering a 16-5 advantage and ultimately the 25-11 win. Set three featured a 10-0 run off the serving prowess of Kate Wade (San Clemente, CA) to make it a 15-6 game as the Corsairs earned the eventual 25-15 victory. The final set of the day saw a 6-0 run to start things from UMass as the Corsairs eventually built up a 17-4 lead and the eventual 25-9 win, closing things out on a 4-0 run, including a pair of aces from Izzy Kuykendall (Wentzville, MO). 
 
UP NEXT
The Engineers are back with some mid-week volleyball when they take on Smith College in NEWMAC action back at Harrington Auditorium on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7pm. Emerson is also back in action on Tuesday at Mount Holyoke at 7pm while UMass Dartmouth will take on Wentworth at home on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7pm. 
 
WPI-Emerson Box Score
 
WPI-UMass Dartmouth Box Score