UMass Boston

BOSTON, Mass. (Oct. 3, 2026) – The UMass Boston Beacons volleyball team notched a thrilling five-set victory over the Rhode Island College Anchorwomen in the Beacons' Little East Conference opener on Saturday at the Clark Athletic Center in Boston.

Saturday's match marked the Beacons' annual Pride Game. 

UMass Boston is now 9-7 (1-0 LEC) on the season, while RIC drops to 7-8 (0-2 LEC).

Set One (25-20, UMB)
The Beacons got off to a strong start by taking six of the first eight points and later held a 16-10 advantage following consecutive kills by Adele Accelus (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Mya Perron (Beverly, Mass.). RIC was able to trim the deficit to three at 18-15, but was unable to get any closer and Perron sealed the set with a kill.

Set Two (26-24, RIC)
In the second set, the two teams traded runs and the visitors used four straight points to open up a 19-16 lead. From there, UMass Boston fought back to even things at 24 before RIC claimed the final two points of the set.

Set Three (25-19, UMB)
RIC held a 16-14 advantage in the third set when a service error ignited a six-point run for the Beacons and a 20-16 lead. Kills from Paige Coulson (Marriottsville, Md.), Kaitlyn Leberstien (Wilmington, Del.) and Perron down the stretch helped clinch the 25-19 victory.

Set Four (25-22, RIC)
The Beacons held a 15-11 edge after an RIC service error, but the Anchorwomen were able to rally and won eight of the next 11 points to take a 19-17 lead. UMass Boston would not go quietly and tied the match at 21 before RIC took four of the final five points to force the decisive fifth set.

Set Five (15-12, UMB)
Five early kills helped give the Anchorwomen a 7-5 lead before an attack error sparked five consecutive points for the Beacons. Head coach Stacy Cheney's squad then held off a late RIC rally and a service error clinched the conference victory.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
Coulson (21 kills), Perron (17) and Leberstien (11) all registered season-highs in kills to lead the balanced attack for UMass Boston.

Leberstien posted an impressive triple-double with 11 kills, 17 assists and 10 digs with her kills and assists totals both marking a career-high. The Wilmington, Del., native is one of just 27 players in all of Division III to record a triple-double thus far in 2026.

Audrey Cofield (Ypsilanti, Mich.) with 34 assists and 17 digs notched a double-double of her own to go along with double-double efforts from Coulson (21 kills, 13 digs) and Perron (17 kills, 13 digs).

First year Ashlee Wudi (Brookfield, Ill.) paced the Beacons with 18 digs.

UP NEXT:
UMass Boston hits the road to face Southern Maine on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.

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