Waggoner Guides Women's Volleyball's Soar Over Nichols

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) displayed aggressive offense and dominant defense, leading the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team's 3-0 road sweep of the Bison of Nichols in Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Wednesday night.

RECORDS:

• Wentworth (14-9, 6-2 CCC)
• Nichols (15-9, 3-5 CCC)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Riley Waggoner, 13; Ashley Cao, 8; Ema Thompson, 8
• Assists – Lexi Zabloudil, 16; Ashley Cao, 14
• Aces – Megan Davies, 3
• Digs – Sydney Brooke, 15; Helen Barthe, 10
• Blocks – Riley Waggoner, 6

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first set opened with an early 2-0 lead for the Bison until two scores from senior Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) and sophomore Helen Barthe (Blythewood, S.C.) got the Leopards on the board. Nichols regained a 4-3 lead until errors knocked them back down by a 7-4 deficit. Barthe picked up another kill to keep the Leopards ahead 13-11. After going down 14-13, another strike from Barthe knotted the score at 14 apiece. Kills by Waggoner and sophomore Ashley Cao (Morrisville, N.C.) sandwiched a dominant block by the duo and put Wentworth ahead 17-14. A kill from sophomore Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) kept the visitors ahead 19-15. After back-and-forth play, Nichols stretched their way back to a 21-21 score. A kill by Thompson helped give the Leopards an eventual 25-23 win and a 1-0 lead.
• Two kills by Waggoner kicked things off for the Leopards in the second set, giving them a 2-1 lead. A ton of back-and-forth play was stabilized by kills from Barthe, Cao, Thompson, and freshman Riley Schoonmaker (Montgomery, N.Y.), bringing the score all the up to 21-19 Nichols. Wentworth managed to knot the score up thanks to another kill from Cao. Before the Bison drew away with a lead, a kill from Waggoner slowed their roll at a 24-23 score. Two Bison errors sandwiched another kill by Waggoner, giving the Leopards a 26-24 win and a 2-0 match lead.
• A kill by Cao capped a 5-2 lead for Wentworth to start the third set. After Nichols battled back, two kills from sophomore Abby Maher (North Granby, Conn.) brought the score to 10-10. The Bison scored the following points until kills from Waggoner and Thompson cut the Leopards' deficit to 14-13. Nichols jumped out to a 19-16 lead but the Leopards battled back to tie it up at 19. Errors put Nichols ahead by a 23-20 score. The two teams knotted things up at 25 apiece thanks to another kill from Waggoner. Tied at 26, two-straight kills from Thompson notched the Leopards with an exciting 28-26 victory and a 3-0 match win.

THE SERIES:

• The Leopards have won all six of the meetings between the two teams, with all wins coming by way of sweep.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Roger Williams in their regular season finale on Saturday morning to wrap up Commonwealth Coast Conference play.

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