BOSTON, Mass. – With a huge solo block by Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) in the fifth set, volleyball (19-7, 6-0 Little East) was able to pull out a 3-2 Little East Conference win over Western Connecticut State University (19-10, 2-3 Little East) Saturday afternoon in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium on senior day.

Murphy's huge solo stop capped off a back-and-forth fifth set that could have gone either way for the two teams.  Following an ace from Jodie Munchbach (Dedham, Mass.) to make it 13-12 Beacons, UMass moved into match-point with a huge kill by Patsy Boland (Chicago, Ill.), to cap off a 17 kill afternoon for the sophomore. 

On the next serve, the Colonials would set their big hitter Brittany Steele, hoping to make it a one-point affair.  However, Murphy slid to her right and threw both of her hands up shutting down Steele and earning the Beacons their sixth win of the campaign. 

Saturday's match marked the first time in 25 meetings that a match between the Beacons and the Colonials went to five sets.  It also ended an eight-match streak in which the Colonials did not record a point against UMass Boston. 

In the opening frame, the Beacons managed to hold off a late run by the Colonials to take a 25-19 victory.  From there Western Connecticut would control the momentum in the second as they earned a 25-19 decision to tie the match at 1-1.  In the third the Beacons would exchange control the lead twice, but managed to hang on for a 25-22 victory.  Leading 2-1, UMass was once again unable to build off of the previous set as the Colonials came storming back to earn a 25-17 win.

The final set would start off favoring the Beacons, but just like the second and fourth sets, WCSU would not be denied as they tied the score four times.  Luckily for the Beacons they were able to dig deep and salvage the conference victory to keep their undefeated conference record alive. 

Boland's 17 kills marked a season high for the sophomore as she he .233 in the win.  The Beacons lone senior in Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) helped to carry her team to the win with 12 kills of her own.  Murphy completed the trio of Beacons hitters scoring 11 kills on 34 attempts. 

Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) continued her strong play as the team's lone setter tallying a career-best 40 assists.  She also finished with two of UMass' 10 aces.  Murphy and Breana Kemp (Red Bluff, Calif.) were tied with a team-high three aces each.

Defensively, Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) had her best showing totaling 36 digs, which was three away from tying the single match record.  She also managed 24 service receptions as well. 

Despite struggling early the Beacons blocking managed to show-up when they needed it the most, as they combined for eight solo blocks and four block assists.  Murphy's solo stop to clinch the victory marked the third solo block for the Canton native, as she also posted two block assists.

The Colonials packed a one-two punch in Saturday's match in the form of Karissa Smith and Brittany Steele.  The two hitters combined for 35 of the team's 57 kills.  Danielle Kaminsky finished with 43 assists and had 23 digs for a solid double-double.  Nina Wojtkiewicz led the back row with 26 digs and 31 service receptions.  Heather Williams totaled one solo block and four block assists, and also had seven kills in the conference loss. 

UMass Boston will look to clinch the regular season title on Tuesday when they travel to Plymouth State University for a 6 p.m. match.