BOSTON, Mass. – After starting off Little East Conference play with a 1-5 record, UMass Boston Women's Volleyball was clinging onto their LEC Tournament hopes with two conference matches remaining. Needing to beat a tough WestConn team at home, travel on the road to Castleton University, and get two conference losses from the University of Southern Maine, a lot needed to break the right way for the Beacons.
But after winning a thriller against WestConn at home and the Huskies dropping their LEC matchup, it all came down to Saturday. The young, resilient Beacons only needed to win against the Spartans after a Southern Maine loss earlier in the afternoon and with a 3-0 road win over Castleton, the defending conference champions cemented their place in the final tournament spot as the six seed.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 3, Castleton 0
UMass Boston (7-16, 3-5 LEC)
Castleton (5-20, 0-8 LEC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the Spartans jumped out to a 4-1 first set lead, UMass Boston capitalized on four attack errors, a trio of kills, and two service aces to create a 9-1 run and a 10-5 lead. Ahead by four, 12-8, the Beacons used another 13-4 run to close out the set which included three service aces from sophomore defensive setter Toni Guerra to give UMass Boston the 25-11 victory in the first set.
A 6-0 run to lead off the second set would be all the Beacons needed to seize control of the frame. Following two points from Castleton to halt the UMass Boston run and make it 7-2, eight straight points helped give the Beacons a 15-2 lead. The largest lead of the set would be 14 for the Beacons who moved within one set of clinching a playoff berth after a 25-14 win.
On the cusp of returning to the Little East Conference Tournament, UMass Boston found themselves ahead 7-4 in the third set before another run, this time with five straight points, gave the Beacons control. Leading by as many as nine points to lead 19-10, UMass Boston finished the third set on a 6-0 run to sweep the match and return to the LEC Tournament to defend their conference title.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Taryn Broughal recorded a team-high 11 kills, her seventh match with 10-plus kills this season
- Freshman setter Amelia Devlin finished with 25 assists; this is the ninth match this season in which Devlin has recorded 20-plus assists in a match
- The Beacons finished with a .291 hitting percentage for the match
- UMass Boston recorded 19 total service aces, led by junior hitter Livia Trindade with four
WHO'S NEXT
Tabbed as the sixth seed in the conference tournament, the Beacons will travel to UMass Dartmouth next Tuesday for the Little East Conference Quarterfinals to take on the third-seeded Corsairs on the road at 7:00 PM. UMass Boston dropped their matchup against UMass Dartmouth earlier this season at home in three close sets.
