Springfield, MA --- WPI Volleyball fell to Springfield in straight sets by scores of 14-25, 20-25 and 15-25 inside Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, WPI sits at 7-6 overall and 0-2 in NEWMAC play as Springfield improves to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in conference action. Additionally, the hosting Pride take a 3-2 lead in the
Greg Poole Match era.
Springfield compiled multiple runs to jump out to an 11-3 lead over the Engineers with kills by
Ahunna James (Plainville, MA),
Alexa Bonato (Orange, CT) and
Jodi Saelua (Mililani, HI). The Pride then posted another five-point run to push out to 19-8 lead as
Anastasia Kelnik (Fairlawn, NJ) recorded a pair of kills to close out the scoring for WPI as the hosts took the first set 25-14.
WPI responded getting out to a 9-5 lead with kills from
Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, FL), Kelnik and
Olivia Hutchinson (Erie, PA) before the Pride raced back on a 7-1 backed by WPI attack errors and took a 12-10 lead. Springfield's
Tori Colosimo (Fairport, NY), James and
Aubrey Hughes (Liberty Hill, TX) posted kills in addition to a service ace by Hughes to maintain the lead at 18-13. Hutchinson and Spees tacked on kills to keep the Crimson and Gray within reach at 18-21 before Springfield closed out the set 25-20.
The hosts finished strong as the Pride registered 18 kills in the final set as
Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) posted a trio of kills to spark an attack for the Engineers and keep the score within reach at 5-9. Kelnik, Hutchinson and
Amelia Lynch (Charlottesville, VA) added kills before the hosts piled on a strong attack for a 12-6 run to cruise to the straight-set victory.
Springfield's
Emily Keaveney (Massapequa Park, NY), Ahunna and Bonato recorded nine kills each for a share of the match high as Colosimo recorded four aces and 41 assists. Kelnik and Hutchinson paced the way for the Engineers with eight kills each.
Both squads continue NEWMAC play on Tuesday at 7pm as the Engineers will return to Worcester and host Mount Holyoke inside Harrington Auditorium as Springfield will travel to Northampton to take on the Smith Bears.
