DANBURY, Conn. – Led by Eileen Shi's (San Francisco, Calif.) 18 kills and .432 hitting percentage volleyball claimed their seventh consecutive Little East Conference Regular Season title as they defeated the reigning conference tournament champs Western Connecticut State University by the final of 3-1 Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, Western Connecticut State University 1

UMass Boston (10-15, 6-1 Little East Conference)
Western Connecticut State University (20-11, 4-3 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With Saturday's victory the Beacons tie the conference record with Western Connecticut for most regular season titles.  UMass Boston will host a semi-final round match on Thursday and will play the winner of Eastern Connecticut/Western Connecticut State, which will take place in Danbury on Tuesday. 

In a match that should have gone 3-0 in favor UMass Boston, the Beacons had to work a little harder to lock-up the top spot in this year's tournament.  They came out firing the first set to take a 25-18 win.  The second set looked to be another dominant performance by UMass, but with a strong push by the Colonials, the Beacons snuck by with a 29-27 victory.  In what looked like the deciding frame, Western managed to rally late to earn a 25-23 decision to force a decisive fourth set.  From the opening serve in the fourth frame, the Beacons cruised past the Colonials as they took a 25-13 decision and the match.

Shi's huge day carried the Beacons from start to finish as they hit an impressive .256 on the day.  Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) was just as solid scoring 13 kills and finishing with a .400 hitting percentage.  Junior setter Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) quarterbacked the Beacons offense with 41 assist, while also posting 11 digs to record the lone double-double for UMass Boston.

Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) tallied 24 digs and had 19 service receptions in the victory to go along with a pair of service aces.  Haley Diedrick (Canton, Mich.) finished with 10 digs and had eight kills in the conference win.  Senior Bri Sousa (Canton, Mass.) continued her strong play at the net, as she finished five of the Beacons 12 block assists.  Murphy owned the two Beacons solo blocks.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Since 2009 the Beacons have posted three 6-1 conference records, and have gone undefeated a total of four times.
• UMass Boston has now won 10 of their 11 meeting with the Colonials dating back to November 1, 2008
• Saturday's match marked the first time this season that both Shi and Murphy hit .400 or better in a conference victory

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host either Eastern or Western Connecticut State University on Thursday in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.  A start time to be announced early next week.