BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) and junior Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) combined for 17 kills and an attack percentage of .696 as the Wentworth women's volleyball team snapped a two-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Mass. Maritime in a non-conference match at Tansey Gymnasium.
The Leopards jumped out to a fast start in the opening set by scoring the first eight points and eventually taking a commanding, 11-1 lead. Trailing 20-5 the Buccaneers rolled off three straight points to trim the gap to 20-8, but the Black & Gold prevailed, 25-11.
In the second set Wentworth scored 11 consecutive points to break a 1-1 tie and take a 12-1 lead. With the score at 16-3 in favor of the Leopards, Mass. Maritime used four straight points to make it a 16-7 set, but the hosts scored nine of the next 11 points to claim the second set by a 25-9 final.
Trailing 2-1 early in the third set, Wentworth scored the next eight points and 16 of the final 19 points to complete the sweep with a 25-5 win.
Hobbs had nine kills and an attack percentage of .750 while Rahilly added eight kills and an attack percentage of .636 in the win. Senior Julie Bruton (Montgomery, Texas) had four kills and a pair of blocks, while freshman Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 23 assists. The Leopards did most of their damage from the service line with 31 aces as junior Nicole Wetherbee (Pembroke, Mass.) and freshman Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had 10 and eight aces, respectively.
The Buccaneers received two kills, six digs, and an ace from junior Alex Burgess-Chrost (Leominster, Mass.).
With the win the Leopards even their record at 13-13 and close out the regular season with a pair of Commonwealth Coast Conference matches, beginning Thursday night at Endicott. Mass. Maritime seeks its first victory of the season on Wednesday night at Worcester State.
