Lasell Outlasts Women's Volleyball

AUBURNDALE, Mass. – After falling behind, 2-1, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team picked up a fourth set win to force a fifth and deciding set, however, the Leopards fell, 3-2, to Lasell in non-conference action Tuesday night.

RECORDS:

• Wentworth (0-2)
• Lasell (2-2)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Ema Thompson, 13; Helen Barthe, 10; Riley Waggoner, 7
• Assists – Lexi Zabloudil, 27; Ashley Cao, 13
• Aces – Lexi Zabloudil, 5
• Digs – Ema Thompson, 15; Helen Barthe, 13; Megan Davies, 12
• Blocks – Riley Waggoner, 1; Vivian Goulet, 1

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After falling behind, 3-2, to open the match, Wentworth went on a 7-0 run, capped off by a senior Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) ace to take a 9-3 lead. The Leopards upped their lead to 11-4 after an attack error, however, Lasell went on an 8-0 run and took a 12-11 lead. A waggoner kill tied the set at 17-all before the Lasers scored the next four points, taking a 21-17 lead. A pair of errors brought Wentworth back within two and, after trailing by four again, senior Vivian Goulet (North Kingstown, R.I.) and sophomore Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) each had kills to bring the Black & Gold back to within two. However, back-to-back attack errors gave the hosts a 25-21 win.
• The Leopards trailed in the early going of the second set before using a 6-1 run to take a 13-11 lead on a sophomore Lexi Zabloudil (London, Ohio) ace. Lasell used a 5-1 spurt of its own, taking a 16-14 lead but the Leopards quickly responded with an 11-1 run to close the set after sophomore Ashley Cao (Morrisville, N.C.) served an ace to clinch the 25-17 win.
• Lasell opened up a12-5 lead in the third set with Wentworth closing the gap to 15-12 when the Lasers committed an attack error. The Lasers extended their lead to 20-14 after a service ace but an 8-1 Leopard run – capped off by a kill from sophomore Helen Barthe (Blythewood, S.C.) – gave Wentworth a 22-21 lead. The teams traded points with an attack error giving Wentworth set point at 24-23. However, three straight Laser points gave the hosts a 2-1 lead with a 26-24 win.
• Wentworth fell behind early in the fourth set before an attack error gave the Black & Gold a 10-8 lead. The Leopards, who hit .308 in the set and forced the Lasers to hit -.036, went on a 10-3 run and took a 20-11 lead after an attack error. Scoring five of the last six points in the set, Wentworth forced – for the second match in a row – a fifth set with a 25-14 win.
• The Lasers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the fifth set and trailed, 6-4, before an attack error brought Wentworth to within one and a kill from Barthe tied the set. A 5-1 run, which included three aces, put the hosts ahead 11-7 but a service error and a kill from Barthe brought the Black & Gold back to within two. That would be as close as Wentworth would get as Lasell scored four straight points to take the 15-9 win.

THE SERIES:

• Tonight was 26th all-time meeting between the two teams. Lasell leads 17-9. This was the second straight – and third time in the last four meetings – the match has gone five sets.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth is at Colby-Sawyer Thursday night.

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