BOSTON, Mass. – After a strong 3-1 win over Clark University (Mass.) volleyball saw what would have been a huge win slip through their fingers as they fell to Augsburg College (Minn.) by the final of 3-1 Friday evening in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium on the first day of the UMass Boston invitational.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, Clark University 1

UMass Boston (8-12)
Clark University (17-5)

UMass Boston 1, Augsburg College 3

UMass Boston (8-13)
Augsburg College (18-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED

UMass Boston vs. Clark University

In the opening match of the annual invitational, the Beacons came out very strong as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead following a 25-19 win in the first set, and a 25-22 win in the second.  Clark managed to claw their way back as they took the third set by the final of 25-15.  UMass did manage to salvage the match with a 25-11 win in the fourth set.

Junior setter Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) highlighted the non-conference win, as the setter became the eighth player in program history to surpass the 1,000 dig mark.  The Florida native finished with 45 assists in the win, as she helped the Beacons hit .317.

Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) scored 19 kills, while senior Bri Sousa (Swansea, Mass.) finished with a .538 hitting percentage.  Eileen Shi (San Francisco, Calif.) and Colleen Koen (Centerville, Mass.) finished off Clark with 10 and 14 kills respectively.

Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) tallied 25 digs, while freshman Emily Steinberg (Moorville, Calif.) posted 10 to help lead the Beacons defensive effort.

UMass Boston vs. Augsburg College

In the nightcap, the Beacons could have pulled out a huge non-conference win, but with a pair of late runs by the Auggies, UMass dropped the 3-1 decision.  Augsburg took the early 1-0 lead following a 25-20 victory in the first set.  The Beacons then rallied in the second with a strong 25-20 win of their own.  With the momentum in their favor, it looked as if though the Beacons were going to pull away with the match in the third, but a 7-0 run by Augsburg would give the Auggies a 25-23 to take a 2-1 lead.  The same type of run would occur in the fourth set, as Augsburg rattled nine straight points to finish off the Beacons as they earned a 25-19 win.

In total Friday's second match was tied a combined 40 times, while the two teams exchanged control of the lead 15 times.

Shi scored a team-high 18 kills on 45 attempts, while Koen scored 10 kills in the tough loss.  Baker continued her strong play as she totaled 42 assists, while also finishing with 10 digs.  Glavan tallied 21 digs to lead four Beacons with 10 or more digs.  Macayla Chianco (Clearwater, Fla.) had a strong match as she finished with 14 digs. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Baker became the 8^th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 assist mark, as the Florida native now stands with 1,080 helpers
• UMass Boston's win over Clark University marked the first in program history, and was just the third meeting between the two squads
• The loss to Augsburg College marked just the second meeting between the two teams, with their first match occurring in 2013 at the Colorado College Invite
• The .317 hitting percentage against Clark marked the third time this season that UMass Boston has hit over. 300 in a match.

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will close out the UMass Boston Invitational with two final matches.  They will first face Bowdoin College at 11 a.m. before taking on Roger Williams University at 3 p.m.