BOSTON, Mass. – After another huge offensive day for sophomore middle Marcelle Tiscareno, volleyball continued its late season conference surge as they handed Keene State College a 3-0 Little East Conference loss Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, Keene State College 0

UMass Boston (8-16, 5-2 Little East Conference)
Keene State College (20-8, 4-3 Little East Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With Saturday's win, the Beacons are now sitting in a three way tie for second with only one more conference match remaining in the 2019 regular season.  With a win over Western Connecticut and a loss by Eastern Connecticut the Beacons would secure the two-seed for the conference tournament. 

Despite a slow start to open up Saturday's match the Beacons quickly regained momentum around the midway point of the set.  They would then claw their way to a 25-22 win to take the early 1-0 advantage.  The second set was all Beacons from start-to-finish as they cruised to a 25-18 win.  The final set nearly saw the Owls sneak away with the win, but with an ace by Sidnee Berch (Boca Raton, Fla.) and a kill by McKayla Geraghty (Elgin, Ill.) the Beacons were able to secure the 25-23 win over their longtime rivals.

Tiscareno continued her impressive in-conference run as she scored 12 kills on 22 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage.  Senior Sarah Doyle (Glendale, Calif.) was also solid with her 11 kills, which went along with three block solos and one block assist.

However the kill of the day went to Emilia Czapiewska (Saint Paul, Minn.) who on her first swing of the contest unloaded a thunderous kill that set the tone for the remainder of the contest.  The junior hitter finished with eight kills, while freshman Aleks Qose (Athens, Greece) continued her solid play scoring six kills for a .250 attack percentage. 

Setter Carsen Komminsk (Worthington, Ohio) combined for 32 assists, and had a career-high 21 digs for her best double-double of the season.  Tyla Parker (Mahwah, N.J.) anchored the Beacons backrow with 16 digs.

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time the Beacons are now 19-13 against Keene State College
• UMB has now recorded eight 3-0 wins over the Owls since the 2009 season
• The Beacons have not dropped a match to Keene State on their home court since September 27, 2008
• On the day the Beacons finished hitting .184, while the Owls posted a .189 hitting percentage
• In total the score was tied a combined 22 times, and there were nine lead changes in the conference match
• With the win the Beacons are now 7-1 on their home court

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. conference match.