PLYMOUTH, NH – The UMass Boston volleyball team (19-8, 7-1 LEC) closed out their regular season with a road match at Plymouth State (20-5, 6-2 LEC) and battled for five sets, but were bested 3-2 by the Panthers on Saturday afternoon from the Foley Gymnasium.
The Beacons fell 25-20 in the first set, took the second set 25-23, dropped the third set 25-18, won the fourth set 25-23, and were bested 15-6 in the final set.
What's Next
No. 1 UMass Boston earned a bye in the LEC Tournament and are set to compete in the LEC Semifinals against the winner of No. 4 Plymouth State and No. 5 Eastern Connecticut State on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. from the Clark Athletic Center.
How it Happened
- UMass Boston jumped out to an early 9-8 lead sparked by a pair of kills from both senior Mya Perron and sophomore Noemie Eugene, while senior Paige Coulson added a service ace before the Panthers rattled off seven of the next eight points of the set to take a 15-10 advantage.
- Coulson then tallied a pair of kills coming off passes from junior Audrey Cofield and freshman Ashlee Wudi to get back within three before another Eugene kill got the Beacons as close as two, but Plymouth State pulled away with a 25-20 victory in set one.
- After falling behind 11-5 despite three combined fills from Perron and freshman Kaitlyn Leberstien before UMass Boston went on a 10-4 run sparked by a pair of kills from both Perron and Eugene to help tie the second set at 15-15.
- Junior Addie Blomgren, sophomore Adele Accelus, and Perron all tallied kills, while Leberstien recorded a service ace over the remainder of the set as the Beacons prevailed 25-23 in the second.
- The Beacons jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third as Leberstien registered a pair of service aces and a kill before the Panthers rattled off four unanswered points to tie the set.
- After UMass Boston took a 9-6 lead, Plymouth State rattled off 11 of the next 13 points, with Eugene registering a Beacon kill in that frame as the home side held a 19-11 advantage.
- The Beacons rallied to within five towards the end of the set sparked by kills from both Perron and freshman Nevaeh Yancey, but the Panthers took the set 25-18.
- The teams played to a 10-10 tie in the fourth set as five different Beacons tallied a kill, while Blomgren and Accelus combined for a block.
- Cofield registered three straight service aces to help give the Beacons a 16-15 edge and after three straight Panther points, Leberstien registered three kills and Perron/Eugene combined for a block to give UMass Boston a 20-18 advantage.
- The Beacons won the battle to 25 as Perron, Wudi, and Blomgren combined for four kills over their final five points as they forced the deciding set with a 25-23 victory.
- The Panthers jumped out to an early lead in the fifth set and never looked back with the UMB points coming off kills from Perron, Accelus, and Yancey, while Accelus/Blomgren combined for a block as Plymouth State prevailed 15-6.
Inside the Stats
- UMass Boston tallied 47 kills, 43 assists, 82 digs, six blocks, and 11 service aces.
- Perron led the squad with 11 kills and added 10 digs to register a double-double.
- Blomgren and Eugene each registered seven kills, whole Blomgren tallied a team-high five blocks.
- Cofield recorded a game-high 31 assists and 20 digs.
- Leberstien (17), Coulson (13), and Wudi (11) also reached double-figures in digs.
