Leopards Claw to Five-Set Win

PAXTON, Mass. – Leading two sets to one, the Wentworth women's volleyball team allowed Anna Maria to tie the match at 2-all before scoring six straight points in the fifth and deciding set to take a 3-2 win over the AMCATS in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference match Tuesday evening.  The win, the fifth of the season for the Leopards, surpasses the 2009 win total of four.

Anna Maria took advantage of six attack errors early in the first set and jumped out to an 11-2 lead.  After a Leopard time out, the AMCATS extended the lead to 13-3 before a 15-5 run tied the set at 18-all.  The set would be tied three more times – most recently at 23-all, but the hosts took the first set, 25-23, after a service error and a service ace.

Wentworth evened the match at 1-all with a 25-12 win in the second set, thanks to a team hitting percentage of .208 and holding the AMCATS to -.130 hitting.  With the score tied at four, Wentworth would race out to a 21-9 lead and never looked back.  The visiting Leopards took a 2-1 lead with a 25-20 win in the third set after batting back from an 18-16 deficit.

Looking to close out the match, the Leopards fell behind in the fourth set by as many as five points at 18-13 before closing the gap to one at 19-18.  However, Anna Maria scored four straight points to take a 23-18 lead.  Four straight Wentworth points cut the lead to 23-22, and after trailing, 24-23, the Leopards fell, 25-23.  Anna Maria hit .375 during the set.

The fifth and deciding set was tied seven times, including at 9-all before a service error gave the Leopards the lead for good at 10-9.  Three kills from junior Julie Bruton (Montgomery, Texas) – including two to close out the match – and two aces from sophomore Rebecca Williams (Brockton, Mass.) gave Wentworth a 15-9 win and a 3-2 victory.

Bruton had 15 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks to pace Wentworth, while freshman Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) added 10 kills, five digs, and two aces.  Senior Sam Vinciguerra (Somersworth, N.H.) had nine kills, while sophomore Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) had seven kills and 11 digs.  Williams nearly recorded a triple double as she had 31 assists, 12 digs, and eight aces.

Anna Maria was led by sophomore Sandy Acosta, who had 16 kills, five blocks, and three aces, while hitting .375.

The Leopards improve to 5-12 overall (2-3 TCCC) and travel to Coast Guard on Saturday for a tri-match against the Bears and UMass Dartmouth.  Anna Maria (5-12, 0-7) is also in action on Saturday as the AMCATS are at WPI for a tri-match against the Engineers and Eastern Nazarene.