BOSTON, Mass. – With two wins in a home tri-match on Saturday, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team broke the program's single-season record for victories in a season. The Leopards defeated Pine Manor and Salem State, both by 3-0 scores, to improve to 16-3 on the season. In the middle match, Salem Stet defeated Pine Manor, 3-0.
WENTWORTH 3, PINE MANOR 0
The Leopards scored the first five points of the opening set – all with freshman Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) on the line – and never looked back, During the 5-0 run to open the set, sophomore Abigail Ahern (Barrington, N.H.) had four consecutive kills. The Gators would cut the lead to 8-4, however the Leopards rolled off seven of the next eight points to take a 15-5 lead before claiming the set, 25-11. Ahern had five kills in the set while freshman Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) had three kills, two aces and nine digs, and sophomore Sarah Hyndman (Encinitas, Calif.) had three kills.
With the score at 4-3 in favor of Wentworth, the Leopards used a 9-1 run and took a second set lead of 13-4. The lead swelled to 21-9 before the Black & Gold took the set, 25-13. Junior Sydney Meyers (Washington, D.C.) had four kills in the set while Ahern and Hyndman had three apiece. Junior Kayla Gendreau (Hudson, N.H.) served a pair of aces.
The third set featured 11 ties and four lead changes as the teams traded points for most of the set until Wentworth took a 17-16 lead on an attack error. The Leopards led 19-18 before closing out the match on a 6-1 run, capped off by a Meyers ace. Ahern had four kills on seven swings in the set without making an error. Meyers had three kills and Tomastik served a pair of aces.
Ahern finished the match with 12 kills and 13 digs. Meyers and Hyndman had seven kills apiece. Tomastik had 32 helpers and served three aces. As a team, the Leopards forced the Gators to hit -.116 for the match, which included -.312 in the second set.
WENTWORTH 3, SALEM STATE 0
Wentworth hit .500 in the opening set while forcing Salem State to hit -.045. A 7-1 run opened the set and the Black & Gold never looked back. A freshman Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) kill gave the Leopards a 15-3 lead and Wentworth maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the remainder of the set, taking a 25-13 win. Rogoz had six kills on eight swings without making an error in the opening frame and junior Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) had four kills on five swings without an error.
The second set saw the Leopards start off with another 7-1 run, and, after the Vikings closed the gap to 9-6, a 7-1 run gave Wentworth a 16-7 lead before taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-14 win. The Leopards hit .467 in the frame, led by five kills from Rogoz and four kills on five swings without making an error from freshman Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif.). Lassiter also went without an error in the set, connecting on three kills on four swings and serving a pair of aces.
Rogoz paced the Black & Gold in the third set with eight kills. After three ties early in the set, Wentworth took the lead for good at 5-4, which began a 6-0 run. Carlson was on the line for five straight points during the run. Salem State would pull within three at 16-13, however the Leopards used a 9-1 run to end the set, 25-14, and complete the sweep on for the day.
Rogoz connected for 19 kills to go along with eight digs and a pair of blocks while hitting .567 (19-2-30). Carlson, Lassiter, and Quick had six kills each and junior Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.) had five kills. Neither Lassiter nor Shea made an error. Quick also had 11 digs, Carlson also had 16 assists and three aces while Lassiter also served three aces. Senior Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) had three blocks. Freshman Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) had 19 assists and freshman Lillie Clark (Vista, Calif.) had 10 digs.
Wentworth resumes Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Tuesday at the University of New England.