BOSTON, Mass. – The University of New England women's volleyball team cruised past Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards 3-0 in a Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup Tuesday evening. With the win, the Nor'easters improve to 5-2 in the CCC and 14-8 overall. In the loss Wentworth drops to 2-5 in the CCC and 16-10 overall.
UNE opened the match on a tear and continued it throughout the set. Senior Maria Kuehl (Middleton, N.H.) controlled the passing from the onset and helped take command of the opening set. Wentworth battled throughout but could not hold any momentum and the Nor'easters took the opening set 25-9.
Wentworth bounced back in the second set and took an early 4-0 behind a Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) kill. But the Nor'Easters quickly bounced back and tied the set at 4-all after an Angie Brunette (North Andover, Mass.) finish from the left side. UNE then opened up a four point lead to make the score 15-11. Wentworth battled back to get within one at 17-16, but Brunette and company was too much and the Nor'easters finished the set with a 25-20 victory.
The third set was hotly contested and featured eight ties and three lead changes. UNE took an early lead that was quickly matched at 4-all by Wentworth. The two teams played even throughout with neither team taking a lead larger than four. The Leopards went up by two to make the score 15-13, but an error and a Kuehl kill knotted the set at 15-all. With the set tied at 18, UNE finished on a 7-4 run to win 25-22.
UNE was led by Brunette's 19 kills, while Leah Janelle (Madbury, N.H.) and Grayson Szczepaniak (Lakewood, Ohio) recorded eight kills each. Janelle added 10 digs, while Szczepaniak had five. Kuehl added 34 assists, 10 digs and three kills. Freshman Erika Sawicki (Wilbraham, Mass.) chipped in seven kills and six digs in the victory.
Young's five kills and four block assists led the Leopards, while classmate Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) added four kills and four digs. Freshman Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) recorded four kills, and junior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had 10 digs and one ace. Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) led Wentworth with 16 assists in the losing effort.
Wentworth finishes their regular season schedule this Saturday at Western New England University, while UNE hosts Roger Williams in their regular-season finale that same day.
