BOSTON, Mass. – Volleyball's tough start the 2015 season continued Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Beacons Invite, as UMass was handed a 3-0 loss by the College of St. Benedict and a 3-2 heartbreaking defeat by 12^th ranked Eastern University in the Clark Gymnasium

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 0, College of St. Benedict 3

UMass Boston (1-6, 0-0 Little East Conference)
College of St. Benedict (3-4, 0-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Association)

UMass Boston 2, Eastern University (PA) 3

UMass Boston (1-7, 0-0 Little East Conference)
Eastern University (7-2, 0-0 Freedom Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

In their first match of the day, the Beacons struggled from start to finish, as the Blazers made quick work of the home team as they cruised to a 25-12 win in the first, 25-19 win in the second and a 25-9 win in the third.

St. Benedict pounded the Beacons to the tune of a .340 hitting percentage, while UMass managed just a .124 hitting percentage.  Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) led the Beacons with six kills, while for the Blazers saw Laura Schmitt and Meghan Koop combined for 19 kills respectively. 

The final match of the tournament saw the Beacons squander a 2-0 lead to the Eagles, as Eastern managed to sneak by to earn the 3-2 victory.  In the opening two sets, UMass dominated play first taking a 25-20 win, before earning a 25-19 victory in the second following an impressive 16 kills on 36 attempts (.333) showing. 

Looking to close things out in the third, the Beacons struggled to put away their nationally-ranked opponents, opening a door for the Eagles to steal the momentum.  Eastern would survive with a 26-24 victory in the third, before cruising to a 25-14 win in the fourth.

Moving into the deciding fifth set, UMass once again jumped out to an early lead as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead.  The Eagles would manage to claw their way back, but it was UMass who reached the crucial eighth point first.

After the two teams switched sides, they would go point for point.  The Beacons would maintain their lead their slim lead for as long as they could, but just like the second set, they were unable to put the final nail in the coffin.

Eastern would tie the match on an Erin Hillman kill to make it 13-13.  The two teams would then even out at 14 points a-piece, before the Eagles scored the two biggest points of the match to secure the 16-14 victory.

Morgan Shemonski led the match with 16 kills and an impressive .324 hitting percentage, but it was late heroics by Hillman that proved to be the deciding factor in the end.  Rikki Schlager tallied 43 assists to carry the Eagles offense to the win.

For the Beacons Murphy, along with Eileen Shi (San Francisco, Calif.) and Colleen Koen (Centerville, Mass.) each tallied 12 kills respectively.  Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) posted 26 assists, while Rachel Maslach (Berlin Center, Ohio) finished 16 helpers.  Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) tallied her first 30+ dig match of the year as the junior finished with 31.  Haley Diedrick (Canton, Mich.) recorded a career best 18 digs and had seven kills. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Saturday's loss marked the third five-set match of the year for the Beacons, all of which they have lost.
• The Beacons are now winless in their last three matches, with their lone win coming on September 5 against Fontbonne University
• Despite hitting just .149 on through the first eight matches, opponents are not fairing that much better as they have combined for just a .177 hitting percentage. 
• Eastern University and the College of St. Benedict were the final two opponents the Beacons have faced in their first eight matches that were ranked on the AVCA Top-25 Preseason Poll.

NEXT UP

The Beacons return to action on Wednesday when they host Endicott College at 6 p.m.