ELMHURST, Ill. – After suffering a heartbreaking loss to the 24^th ranked Warhawks of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, UMass finally got in the win column as they defeated Fontbonne University Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Elmhurst College Invitational. 

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, University of Wisconsin Whitewater 3
UMass Boston (0-4, 0-0 Little East Conference)
University of Wisconsin Whitewater (3-0, 0-0 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)

UMass Boston 3, Fontbonne University 1
UMass Boston (1-4, 0-0 Little East Conference)
Fontbonne University (1-4, 0-0 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

MATCH #1

Looking to earn their first win of the year in a big way, the Beacons faced their third nationally-ranked opponent in less than 24 hours.  UMass Boston came out firing in the first set, and managed to hold-off a late Warhawks rally to take a 27-25 victory.  Whitewater responded quickly with a 25-21 win in the second.  The Beacons tried to battle back from a then five point deficit, but they could not make the final push.

The third set would once again fall in the Beacons favor as Bri Sousa (Swansea, Mass.) scored the final point of the set (25-21) to give UMass a 2-1 lead.  With all the momentum in their favor, the Beacons tried to finish off their Wisconsin opponent.  UMass would control a majority of the fourth set, but when it came to closing out the Warhawks they could not get it done in the end, as UWW earned the 28-26 decision.  The fifth and final frame was all Whitewater from start to finish.  They took advantage of every opportunity and cruised to a 15-8 win.

Offensively, UMass continued to struggle hitting just .122 in the loss.  Eileen Shi (San Francisco, Calif.) was the only Beacon to finish in double-figures scoring 10 kills.  Pepper Baker (Tallahassee, Fla.) tallied 25 assists, and also had 13 digs for a solid double-double.  Elizabeth Glavan (Edina, Minn.) finished with a match-high 20 digs, while Sousa and Haley Diedrick (Canton, Mich.) each threw down five block assists.  Diedrick also had 11 digs.

MATCH #2

In the final match of the tournament, the Beacons were able to get over a slow start to pound out three straight victories, to get their first win of the 2015 campaign.  After suffering the 25-17 loss in the first set, the Beacons handed a Fontbonne a 25-19 loss in the second, then a 25-10 loss in the third, and finally a 25-18 win in the fourth.

For the first time this season, UMass hit well over the .200 mark, as they posted a .262 hitting percentage.  Julia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and Shi each recorded a match-high 11 kills, while Rachel Maslach (Berlin Center, Ohio) finished with a career-best seven kills.  Baker put-up an impressive 34 assists, and Glavan posted 18 digs.  Shi recorded her second collegiate double-double as she put-up 13 digs. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons 1-4 start is the first since the 2007 season, when UMass started the campaign 1-7 overall. 
• The Beacons closed out their first visit to the Elmhurst College Invitational with a 1-3 record.
• Saturday's matches marked the first-ever between the Beacons and Wisconsin Whitewater and Fontbonne University.  The only other team that UMass has faced from the WIAC was Wisconsin-Oshkosh back on November 2, 2013 (L 2-3).
• Their 14 block assists and nine total blocks against Whitewater marked the second time this season, that the Beacons have hit that mark. 
• With Saturday's split, Julia Murphy became the first Beacon this season to hit over .200 for the year (.211)
• Junior All-American Elizabeth Glavan needs just 17 digs to become the all-time leader in the category.

NEXT TIME OUT

The Beacons return to play next Friday, when they face the 6^th ranked Captains of Christopher Newport University.  The Beacons will face CNU at 7 p.m. as part of the two-day annual Beacons Invitational