NORTON, Mass. – For the first two sets of the evening, it looked like the same story as the past seven matches for UMass Boston Women's Volleyball as they found themselves down 2-0 on the road to Wheaton College. Mired in an eight-game losing streak and having lost 26 consecutive sets, the young Beacons team showed fight and resolve, clawing their way back into the match and defeating the Lyons in five sets, 3-2.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 3, Wheaton College 2
UMass Boston (3-12)
Wheaton College (5-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons got off to a quick start, going up 2-0 in the first set before the Lyons rallied for seven of the next eight points to take control, 7-3. UMass Boston would be unable to get within more than two points in the set, coming as close as 8-6, before Wheaton went up by as many as six points at 19-13 before winning the opening set, 25-18.
The Lyons never relinquished the lead in the second set, winning the first five points of the frame, going up by as many as eight points on two separate occasions. The Beacons looked to claw back into the set, getting within two points, 23-21, before Wheaton scored the next two points to take set two, 25-21.
With their backs against the wall, UMass Boston found themselves down 3-0 straight away in the third set and eventually trailed 10-6. That was when the Beacons found their rhythm with back-to-back kills from sophomore hitter
Dylan Wertzberger sparking a 5-0 run to give UMass Boston their first lead since 2-0 in the first set. Once again, the Lyons struck back with a brief spurt that gave them a 17-16 edge.
A host of errors by Wheaton helped the Beacons take a 21-18 lead and undeterred by a potential momentum-breaking timeout from the Lyons', UMass Boston rallied for four consecutive points, following a point from Wheaton, to take the third set, 25-19.
Yet again, the resilience of the Beacons showed in the fourth set as well after Wheaton took a 10-6 lead following a 2-0 start for UMass Boston in the frame. Rallying for four straight points and eventually working to a 13-13 tie, the Beacons looked in control of the set after going on ahead 18-13. It would be Wheaton's turn to climb back into the match, making the most of five UMass Boston errors to pull within two points, 20-18.
Following a timeout for the Beacons, the used four service aces from senior hitter
McKayla Geraghty and a service error by the Lyons to take the fourth set, 25-20.
In a decisive fifth set, it was the same story for UMass Boston who slipped into a 10-4 hole after a 7-0 run for the Lyons. But the poise and resilience of the Beacons was on display in full force one last time as two kills from Wertzberger, a service ace and kill from Geraghty, a service ace from junior libero
Ally Dean and two attack errors from the Lyons resulted in an 8-1 run for UMass Boston to give them a 12-11 lead and force Wheaton College to call timeout.
The Beacons would not be denied their first victory in 20 days as senior hitter
Taryn Broughal recorded her seventh kill, the Lyons committed a service error, and freshman setter
Amelia Devlin brought home the win for UMass Boston on a service ace in a decisive 15-12 victory in the fifth and final set.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Freshman setter Alyssa Tonnu made her second collegiate start in place of junior hitter Livia Trindade finished the match with seven kills, matching her season and career high set against Eastern Connecticut State University
- McKayla Geraghty set a season-high with 10 kills, her most since the 2019 season in which she recorded 10 kills twice and a career-high 13 kills against Emerson in the same year
- The third set win for the Beacons snapped a streak of 26 consecutive sets lost, dating back to the September 10th match versus Maine Maritime Academy
- UMass Boston snaps their eight-game losing streak, winning their first match since September 10th against Keuka College
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons come home for their first match in 18 days at Clark Athletic Center, welcoming Little East Conference opponent Rhode Island College to the harbor campus for a 7:00 PM match on Tuesday night.
