BOSTON, Mass. – The young, gritty UMass Boston Women's Volleyball team continued their turnaround after an 0-4 start to the season. After losing 12 consecutive sets to start the season, the Beacons have begun to turn the ship around after splitting on Saturday against Keuka College and Maine Maritime Academy and going 2-1 overall for the weekend.

Winners in seven of their 11 sets played in the last two days, UMass Boston took care of Keuka College in straight sets (3-0) in the early game before dropping their second match of the day, 3-1, to undefeated Maine Maritime Academy at the Clark Athletic Center.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, Keuka College 0
UMass Boston 1, Maine Maritime Academy 3

UMass Boston (2-5)
Keuka College (0-7)
Maine Maritime Academy (7-0)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Keuka College
Trailing early, the Beacons battled back to a 5-5 tie in the first set before rallying for six consecutive points, due in part to four miscues by the Wolves, and never looking back to open the match. Three more miscues down the stretch of the opening set by Keuka College would result in six of the last seven points of the first set going to the Beacons who took it, 25-13.

After dropping the opening point to start the second set, UMass Boston rallied for the next five points, setting the tone for the frame. The Beacons would salt away the second set with a 4-0 run after leading 18-12. Senior hitter Mckayla Geraghty recorded three consecutive service aces down the stretch as UMass Boston took the second set, 25-14.

Carrying the momentum into the third set, the Beacons went on a 9-0 run, their second longest run of the weekend (10-0 run vs. New England College on Friday night) after going up 5-1. Keuka College would look to make a run back into the match, scoring five of the next seven points of the set, but a 5-0 run by the Beacons quickly put an end to the Wolves' rally as UMass Boston took the third set, 25-9, to sweep the match.

Freshman setter Amelia Devlin recorded a match-high 16 assists and junior setter Melina Sullivan continued her hot streak with a second consecutive match recording double-digit assists (10). The double-digit assist performance was the third of that nature in the first six games of the season for the Richmond, Virginia native.

Senior hitter Taryn Broughal had a dominant match with 11 kills and a season-high .588 attack percentage to lead the team.

Following her season-high five service aces against New England College the night before, Mckayla Geraghty surpassed that mark with six service aces in the match which is a new career high for the senior from Elgin, Illinois.
 
Maine Maritime Academy
Squaring off against an undefeated Maine Maritime Academy team fresh off a five-set thriller against New England College just before the match, the Beacons started off hot, scoring six of the first eight points to take an early 6-2 lead. The Mariners would respond following a couple attack errors by UMass Boston to storm back and take a 10-7 lead, going on a 6-0 run after trailing 7-4.

After rallying to tie, Maine Maritime would look to take the first set after going ahead 21-18, but two kills from junior hitter Livia Trindade and a service ace from freshman hitter Lauren Westlund helped the Beacons knot it up. With their backs nearing the wall, UMass Boston would take advantage of a bad set by the Mariners and score the last three points to win set one, 25-23.

Maine Maritime would come roaring back in the second set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and going up by as many as 12 points and earning the eventual 25-11 victory to tie up the match at one set a piece. A back and forth third set started with an early 3-0 lead for the Beacons, but the Mariners battled back from two deficits and utilizing a 5-0 run to go up 12-7 in the match.

UMass Boston would battle valiantly to pull even at 14, at which point Maine Maritime would take control of the set with the Beacons getting within one, 22-21, before the Mariners scored three consecutive points to take a 2-1 lead. UMass Boston would drop the fourth set, 25-16, falling to Maine Maritime, 3-1, to close out the 2022 Beacons Invitational.

Taryn Broughal continued her impressive afternoon, following up her first match performance with 10 kills on 16 attempts to finish with a .563 hitting percentage versus Maine Maritime.
Junior libero Ally Dean lead the Beacons with 14 digs.

Senior outside hitter Rachel Melampy and team leader in kills, led Maine Maritime with a 21-kill performance, attacking at .415 while sophomore defensive specialist Sydney Rich dug out a team-leading 24 digs in the Mariners' victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• There were only four tie scores (three in the first set) and two lead changes in the opening match against Keuka College, there were none in each category during the third set
• Keuka College attacked at -.040 against the Beacons, committing 16 attack errors, 16 reception errors, three ball-handling errors, and one block error in the match
• This was the first match in program history between UMass Boston and Keuka College
• Taryn Broughal finished the afternoon with a total of 21 kills on 33 attempts, giving her a .558 attack percentage for the day
• Ally Dean led the Beacons for the afternoon with 26 total digs
• This was the first time in program history in which UMass Boston faced Maine Maritime Academy

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons continue their six-match homestand with a matchup against Brandeis University on Tuesday night at 7:30 inside Clark Athletic Center.