BOSTON, Mass. – The UMass Boston volleyball team successfully defended their 2019 championship, on their way to winning a conference best 10^th Little East Conference Tournament title, following a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the fifth-seed Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors Saturday afternoon at Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

#2 UMass Boston 3, #5 Eastern Connecticut State University 2

UMass Boston (14-12)
Eastern Connecticut State (17-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 

Setter Carsen Komminsk (Worthington, Ohio) was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, after posting 51 assists, two aces and five digs in the title match. With the win, the Beacons earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 2021 Division III selection show will be held on Monday, November 8 at 12:30 p.m. EST on NCAA.com.

Fresh-off of their huge win over the top-seeded Panthers of Plymouth State University, ECSU looked to keep that momentum going to win the program's fifth title and first since 2011. The Warriors jumped out to a 1-0 lead following a strong 25-17 win.
The Beacons did respond to cool-off the red-hot Warriors as they claimed a 25-20 win in the second to tie the match at 1-1. ECSU came one set closer to winning the LEC title following a 25-20 win in the third.

With their backs up against the wall, the Beacons had to rally multiple times in the fourth set, and eventually went the distance to earn a hard-fought 30-28 win. The fourth set saw the two rivals tied a combined 16 times, while there were seven lead changes.

The fifth and final frame saw the Warriors jump out to a 5-2 lead before the Beacons called their first timeout. ECSU would maintain their three point lead until the Beacons posted a 3-0 run to tie the match at 7-7.

Following a Warriors timeout, UMB took their second lead of the set on a McKayla Geraghty (Elgin, Ill.) ace.  ECSU would tie the Beacons three more times with the last coming on a Abby Stern kill to make it 12-12. From there, Marcelle Tiscareno (El Paso, Texas) would score her last kill of the match to make it 13-12. Junior hitter Taryn Broughal (Branford, Conn.) would then seal the victory for UMass Boston as she recorded the final two points. She would make it 14-12 on solo block, before clinching the championship win with her seventh kill of the day.

Emilia Czapiewska (Saint Paul, Minn.) led the Beacons with 17 kills, while the Warriors' top hitter Anna Barry led all players with 20 kills and a .567 average.

Livia Trindade (São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil) posted career-high 16 kills and a .293 clip. Tiscareno closed out her second championship as a Beacon with 11 kills, and 1.5 blocks. Ally Dean (Portland, Ore.) put-up 26 digs, while Aleks Qose (Athens, Greece) registered 13 digs and nine kills. Geraghty finished with five of the team's 16 aces.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston is now the only team in Little East Conference history to win 10 tournament titles
• Since 1999, UMass Boston and Eastern Connecticut State have appeared in every LEC Championship match except in 2003 when Plymouth State faced WestConn
• UMass Boston has won their 10 championships over the last 12 seasons
• Saturday's LEC Championship was the second for head coach Mike Houlihan since taking over the program in 2017
• All-time the Beacons are now 10-1 in LEC championship matches
• The Beacons are now 12-16 against ECSU all-time

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will find out who they will face and what regional tournament they will compete in on Monday on the NCAA Selection show.