DANBURY, Conn. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team kicked off the 2017 campaign with a pair of victories at the Colonial Classic Tournament. The Leopards defeated host Western Connecticut, 3-0, before dispatching of Penn State Berks, 3-0, to close out the day.

WENTWORTH 3, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 0
The first set of the 2017 season was a back and forth campaign. The host Colonials claimed the first point, but a kill by sophomore Claire Quick (Mission Viejo, Calif) put the Leopards on the board. After the hosts made a pair of errors, the Leopards led 3-1. A kill by Western Connecticut, made the score 3-2 Wentworth, before the Leopards went on a run on their own which included two of Junior Lille Clark's (Vista, Calif) four service aces of the match which lead to an 8-2 lead by the Leopards. The middle of the set was back and forth with neither team able to go on a run of more than three points. Sophomore Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.) ended the first set on a kill from sophomore Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y).

Wentworth took the first four points of the second set and would stretch its lead to 9-1 after a sophomore Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) kill. The Colonials pulled to within five at 12-7, however that would be as close as the hosts would get as the Leopards ended the second set on a Rogoz kill, taking a 2-0 lead with a 25-14 win.

The opening of the third set saw three ties and neither team led by more than two points. Western Connecticut led 16-14 before four straight Leopard points made it 18-16. The Colonials tallied the next two points, tying the set at 18-all, however seven of the next 10 points went to the Black & Gold, who ended the match after a Western Connecticut attack error.

Rogoz finished the match with 11 kills and six digs while Quick added eight kills, hit .412 (8-1-17), and tallied 11 digs. Lassiter finished with seven kills and hit .500 (7-2-10) while also recording a block. Senior Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) had five kills while sophomore Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) had nine digs. Clouse finished with 21 assists. As a team Wentworth hit .333.

WENTWORTH 3, PENN STATE BERKS 0
The second match of the day saw Wentworth open up a 12-6 lead in the opening set after a setting error and, after the Nittany Lions made it 16-12, the Leopards scored the next four points to take a 20-12 lead after a PSU Berks error. The Nittany Lions made it 23-17 after a Leopard error, however freshman Makenna Salsbury (Bel Air, Md.) set up match point with a kill. Berks reeled off five straight points to make it 24-22, however an attack error gave the Black & Gold a 25-22 win.

Penn State Berks took a 15-12 lead in the second set before Wentworth battled back to take an 18-17 lead after a kill from Clark. The Nittany Lions regained the lead and held a 20-19 advantage before six of the final eight points were scored by the Leopards, who used a Rogoz kill to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 win.

The Nittany Lions opened the third frame by scoring the first two points, however Wentworth rolled off six straight points and took a 6-2 lead after a Carlson kill. The Leopards upped their lead to 13-4 when Rogoz served an ace and the Black & Gold never looked back, taking the third set by a 25-15 margin.

Quick finished the match with nine kills and 10 digs, followed by Rogoz who had seven kills, two aces, and 14 digs. Salsbury six kills and hit .625 (6-1-8) while Carlson tallied four kills. Cambray had eight digs and freshman Kayla Chen (Irvine, Calif.) had 14 assists.

Wentworth squares off against Simmons (10:00 a.m.) and RIT (12:00 p.m.) on Saturday.

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