BOSTON, Mass. – A pair of 25-23 wins in the first two sets coupled with a 25-20 win in the fourth earned the fourth-seeded Colonials of Western Connecticut State University a 3-1 upset victory over the top-seeded Beacons of UMass Boston, Saturday afternoon in the semi-final round of the Little East Conference Tournament at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

With the victory, the Colonials advance to their first conference championship match since 2007, and will meet intra-state rival Eastern Connecticut State University tomorrow at noon.  The match-up will be the first since the 2007 championship, which the Warriors won. 

For the Beacons their 2014 season came to a close with an overall record 20-11, and ends the Beacons historic championship run at five straight tournament titles, and six straight regular season crowns.

Carrying the Colonials to the victory was a strong trio of hitters in Karissa Smith, Brittany Steele, and Jaqueline Kanuk.  Smith led Western Connecticut with 14 kills, while Steele finished with a .296 hitting percentage.  Setter Danielle Kaminsky totaled 40 assists and had 20 digs for an impressive double-double.

UMass' lone victory came in the third set in the form a 25-17 decision.  The Beacons should have walked away with a win in the second set, but could not close it out allowing the Colonials to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

Sophomore hitter Patsy Boland (Chicago, Ill.) led the contest with 16 kills, while Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and Blair Boyer (Encinitas, Calif.)  each posted 10 kills respectively.  Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) tallied 41 assists and 11 digs to close out her sophomore season as a hitter turned setter.

Defensively, Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) was phenomenal from start to finish as tallied 31 digs, making it the eighth match this season that the sophomore finished with 30 or more put-ups. 

Senior Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) played her final match as a Beacon and finished with a team-best two solo blocks and three block assists and also had nine digs, and eight kills.  She also led the match in service aces with five.