BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Alyssa Jasper (Rockland, Mass.) recorded 23 kills and six digs to help the Worcester State University women's volleyball team defeat Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-2, in a non-conference match played at Tansey Gymnasium. The match went the distance for the third straight year with Wentworth having won the previous two matchups. With the victory the Lancers improve to 7-17 on the season, while the Leopards see their three-match win streak come to an end, dropping to 16-9.
The first set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes with neither team having a lead larger than four points. Wentworth jumped out to an early 4-1 lead behind a Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) kill but Worcester State rallied to tie the set at four. The Leopards would then take another small lead at 8-5 with help from a Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) kill. Once again, the Lancers would battle back to tie set at 8-all. The teams went back-and-forth until Worcester State took a 15-14 lead. The Lancers would extend their lead to 19-15 but Wentworth had one more run in them and knotted the match up at 24 highlighted by three points from Young. The Lancers' Samantha Patterson (Ashby, Mass.) would give her team the one point lead with a strong kill from the right side and Worcester State would finish the set with the 26-24 victory.
Wentworth bounced back quickly in the second set and took a 10-8 lead behind strong net play by Nihan and Sheena Dignean (Constantia, N.Y.). With the Leopards holding a 14-11 lead, Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) and Bailey would combine to save the point with diving plays that led to a kill from Young. Worcester State would then storm back to tie the set at 15-all but a Bailey kill sparked a 4-0 spurt for the Leopards to give them the 20-16 advantage. Jasper would lead the charge in a Lancer comeback but the Leopards held on to take the set 25-23.
The Leopards would start strong once again and opened up a 10-4 lead to start the third set. Young and Bailey solidified the middle while Curran controlled the service line. Curran aced to give the Black & Gold an 18-8 advantage before Jasper would lead another charge for the Lancers that forced a Wentworth timeout with the score 18-12. However, Nihan's block gave the Leopards a 24-16 lead and sealed the set that Wentworth would win 25-18.
With their backs against the wall, Worcester State rose to the occasion and responded by never trailing in the fourth set. The Lancers were led by Jasper and Meghan Brown's (Dartmouth, Mass.) strong net play that produced five kills between them. Jasper's kills gave Worcester State leads of 13-5 and 17-8. The two teams would exchange points the rest of the way and the Lancers would hold on to force a fifth set 25-14.
The deciding frame was once again lead entirely by the Lancers. Worcester State would maintain their momentum and jump out to an 8-3 lead. Meghan Deighan (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Jasper produced five combined kills to take and hold the lead for the Lancers. Wentworth got within four, at 10-6 but Worcester State maintained its composure and finished the set with a 15-7 victory.
In addition to Jasper's 23 kills, the Lancers' Brown added 16 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Meghan Deighan had 12 kills (on 13 swings), two aces and two digs. Patterson recorded seven kills and three digs while Gina Battista (West Springfield, Mass.) led the contest with 44 assists – she also had 11 digs and two aces in the victory.
Dignean would pace Wentworth with 13 kills to go along with seven digs. Junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) added nine kills and three digs, while Nihan, Amanda Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.) and Young had six kills each. Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) recorded 37 assists in the contest to go along with three digs. Curran continued her strong play with three aces and 16 digs.
Wentworth hosts the University of New England in conference play on Tuesday while Worcester State travels to Western New England on Thursday.
