BROOKLINE, Mass. – The Wentworth women's volleyball team climbed above .500 (12-11) as the Leopards battled to a 3-2 win over Newbury and a 3-0 win over Becker in a non-conference tri-match played at Hellenic College.
The Leopards would need to rally from a 20-17 deficit in the first set against Newbury by using a 7-1 run to put them in the driver's seat. The Nighthawks responded with three straight unanswered points to knot up the score at 24-all but were unable to complete the comeback as Wentworth scored two quick points right after to go up 1-0.
Newbury tied up the match at 1-all with a 25-23 win in the second set before Wentworth staged another comeback to take the third set, 25-17, thanks to senior middle hitter Julie Bruton's (Montgomery, Texas) three kills.
Facing defeat, sophomore outside hitter Jessy Touron (Brockton, Mass.) tallied four kills while freshman middle blocker Lauren Watson's (Denver, Colo.), freshman Sydney Fish (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and senior Tricia Corriveau (Coventry, R.I.) each added three to help the Nighthawks force a decisive game five.
Bruton opened the set with three straight kills to give the Leopards the quick lead but the Nighthawks battled back. However, a third comeback attempt in the match was not in the cards for Newbury as Wentworth took the fifth set, 15-12.
Bruton registered a double-double with a match-high 17 kills and 15 digs on the afternoon while maintaining an attack percentage north of .300 at .342. Junior Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) added 12 kills, 11 digs, and four aces while classmate Nicole Wetherbee (Pembroke, Mass.) and sophomore Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) each had seven kills. Hobbs also had four aces. Freshman San Curran (Quincy, Mass.) recorded 26 digs and classmate Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 37 assists.
Watson led three Nighthawks in double figure kills with 16 while Touron tallied a double-double with 13 kills and 18 digs. Fish rounded out the three-some in double digits with 12 kills.
Building on the momentum of the win against Newbury, the Leopards made quick work of the Hawks, with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-19 win.
Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) led Wentworth with 10 kills to go along with seven digs, while Bruton had four kills, three aces, and 11 digs. Curran had six aces and six digs, while junior Rebecca Williams (Brockton, Mass.) had 21 assists.
Despite the loss, Becker was led by junior middle blocker Theresa Boulier (Eddington, Maine), who tallied a team-high five kills while freshman setter Lauren LaVallee (Millbury, Mass.) record four set assists.
Wentworth returns to Commonwealth Coast Conference play Tuesday when the Leopards travel to Salve Regina.
(Portions of this release courtesy of Newbury Sports Information)