BOSTON, Mass. – The Roger Williams women's volleyball team opened defense of its the Commonwealth Coast Conference title by sweeping Eastern Nazarene and Wentworth in a TCCC tri-match played at Tansey Gymnasium.
The first match of the day saw the host Leopards facing the Lions of Eastern Nazarene. Wentworth jumped out to a quick, 1-0 lead by hitting .450 and taking the first set, 25-20. The Leopards would extend their lead to 2-0 in the second set with a 25-23 win before Eastern Nazarene closed the gap to 2-1 with a 28-26 win in the third set. Wentworth snapped a two-match losing streak when it closed out the match in the fourth set, 25-17, to win by a 3-1 score.
Freshman Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) had 14 kills and 14 digs for the Leopards, while hitting .500. Junior Julie Bruton (Montgomery, Texas) also recorded a double-double with a 10-kill, 10-dig performance and hit .429 for the match. Hobbs and Bruton each made just one attack error in the match. Sophomore Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) had nine kills, four aces, and 13 digs, while classmate Rebecca Williams (Brockton, Mass.) had 37 assists.
The Lions received six kills from senior Amber Burns (Fall River, Mass.) to go along with 13 assists and 15 digs from sophomore Rachel Mun (Cambridge, Mass.) Senior Allison Auperlee (Quincy, Mass.) had 10 digs, while junior Kaitlyn Yoder (Smithsburg, Md.) and freshman Cayla Clinkscale (Oxford, Pa.) each had three aces. Clinkscale also had four blocks.
Roger Williams earned its first conference win of 2010 with a 3-0 sweep of the Lions in the day's middle match. The Hawks took the first set, 25-13, and cruised to a 25-9 win in the second set before closing out the match with a 25-12 win in the third set.
Senior Rebekah Dion (Old Saybrook, Conn.) had 14 kills and a pair of blocks in the win, with sophomore Kelsey Twarog (Barkhamsted, Conn.) adding seven kills and six digs. Sophomore Kelsee Loche (Millis, Mass.) had five aces and 10 digs, while freshman Sarah DeVries (Dover Plains, N.Y.) had 28 assists.
Eastern Nazarene received two kills apiece from Burns, Yoder, and freshman Leann Williams (Oxford, Pa.), with Burns and Mun each recording eight digs.
The Hawks completed their sweep by downing Wentworth, 3-0. Roger Williams picked up where it left off at the conclusion of its first match with a 25-15 win in the first set before holding the hosts to just eight points in a 25-8 win in the second set. Wentworth would double its point total in the third set, but the Hawks would prevail with a 25-16 win.
Freshman Krystie Luczynski (Kensington, Conn.) had 12 kills and made just two errors in 25 attack attempts to go along with three blocks. Dion had nine kills (zero errors) on 11 attempts, senior Jill Hurd (Sunapee, N.H.) had 12 digs and five aces, while DeVries had 28 assists.
Wentworth received eight kills from Bruton to go along with 10 digs from freshman Kingsley Catalucci (Lancaster, Mass.). The Leopards were held to negative hitting percentages in their first two sets.
Roger Williams improves to 10-2 (2-0 TCCC) on the year and hosts Bridgewater State on Tuesday night. Wentworth stands at 3-7 (1-1) and hosts Lesley on Wednesday night, while Eastern Nazarene (2-9, 0-2 TCCC) travels to Emmanuel on Tuesday.
