BOSTON, Mass. – Led by a career-high 18 kills by senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.), volleyball was able to salvage a split on day one of the 2014 Beacons Invitational as they dropped the opening match to Trine University, 3-0 before earning a 3-2 win over Emerson College Friday evening in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

Morrison, carried the Beacons in what was not the Beacons best showing to-date, as the North Reading native also finished with a match-best .500 hitting percentage.  UMass had to fight for every point in the nightcap taking the opening game 25-21, before falling in game-two 25-18.  In the third the Beacons looked as if though they were going to end the match in four games, following a 25-16 decision.  However, Emerson had other ideas as they posted a 28-26 victory to force game-five. 

In the final game, the Beacons came out firing jumping out to an 8-1 lead.  Down but not out, Emerson cut the huge deficit to four as they trailed 11-7.  UMass would grind out the next few points, and with a Morrison kill on match-point the Beacons managed to get by with the non-conference victory. 

The first match of the day saw the Beacons go back-and-forth with a very tough Trine University team.  The visiting Thunder earned a 25-21 win in game one, before pulling out a 25-23 decision in game-two.  In the third, the Thunder jumped out to a strong start and never looked back to take a 25-19 victory.

UMass Boston 0, Trine University 3

In game one, the Beacons saw junior Blair Boyer (Encinitas, Calif.) and sophomore Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass. each record a team-high eight kills.  Bri Sousa (Swansea, Mass.) finished with six kills a team-high .545 hitting percentage.  Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) totaled 13 assists and four of the Beacons eight aces.  Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) totaled 12 digs, while Murphy had all four of the Beacons blocks.

Taylor Rabel led the Thunder with 12 kills, while Laura Hartman scored seven kills on nine attempts for a match-high .778 hitting percentage.  Carly Searles tallied 25 assists, while Rabel, and Mikayla Carpenter combined for 21 digs respectively. 

UMass Boston 3, Emerson College 2

Along with Morrison's team-best 18 kills, the senior also came-up with a pair of solo blocks.  Boyer dropped in 14 kills, while Murphy finished with 13 to help carry the Beacons offense.  Emma Rocha (Boynton Beach, Fla.) tallied 30 assists, which was second most this season for the junior, while Baker and Jillian Brown (Oak Park, Calif.) tallied 22 assists respectively. 

Glavan put-up a season-high 34 digs and collected 42 service receptions.  In total the Beacons posted 10 total blocks with Sousa leading the way with four solo stops and two block assists.

For the visiting Lions, Amanda Linzmeyer matched Morrison with 18 kills of-her-own.  Jules Augustine and Brittany Schoellkpof totaled 11 and 12 kills for Emerson, while Sam Harton led the defense with 21 digs.  Elaine Nichols finished the five-game loss with 46 assist and had 13 digs.

Volleyball returns to action tomorrow when they host Roger Williams University at 2 p.m. and Colby-Sawyer College at 6 p.m. on the final day of the Beacons Invite.