Women's Volleyball Silences Simmons, WestConn in Tri-Match Action

BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team (8-1) got back in the win column Saturday, posting impressive victories over the Simmons Sharks (2-6) and WestConn Wolves (4-5), both in straight sets.

In the Leopards' bout with the Wolves, Helen Barthe eclipsed the 500 career kills plateau and currently sits just outside the program's top-ten all-time finishers in total career kills.

MATCH ONE: WENTWORTH 3, SIMMONS 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Two finishes by Emma Sanders and an ace by Kate McLane helped the Leopards to a 5-1 lead in the opening frame before kills from Abby Maher and Kinsey Lutz continued the advantage to 11-4. Kills from Barthe and Riley Schoonmaker later capped a 6-0 run and pushed the lead to 19-10. After a slight battle back by the Sharks to a 22-17 score, two kills from Lutz helped clinch a 25-18 set win.
• Five aces by Olivia Vaughn propped Wentworth to a 8-0 lead to open the second set before finishes by Sanders and Barthe continued the score to 13-3. A kill by Lutz marked a 16-6 score before the Leopards later went on a 6-0 run, including two aces and a kill by Schoonmaker, to take a 25-10 set.
• Four aces from McLane and two finishes from Sanders gave the Black & Gold an 8-1 lead in the third set before a kill by McLane marked a 14-6 lead. Simmons pushed back, forcing a 21-19 edge later in the set, before a kill from Barthe started a 4-2 run that earned Wentworth a 25-21 set win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Wentworth owns the all-time series record, 16-9.

MATCH TWO: WENTWORTH 3, WESTCONN 0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Kills from Barthe and Sanders helped Wentworth to a 7-2 lead in the opening set before a kill by McLane marked a 13-7 score. Kills by McLane, Sanders, and Barthe continued the advantage to 16-11 before two more by McLane pushed the score to 23-18 later on. A kill by Sanders capped a back-and-forth with the Wolves, resulting in a 25-22 set win.
• The Leopards grabbed five of the first six points in the second frame before a kill by Barthe marked a 10-4 lead. A slew of errors capped by two finishes from McLane pushed the score to 20-7 before three kills in a row by Sanders completed a 25-9 set win for the Leopards.
• The two teams swapped scores to begin the third set before the Wolves took a 9-6 advantage. After the Leopards clawed back, the Wolves took a 14-10 lead, eventually closed to 15-14 on a Maher kill. Wentworth took a 20-19 lead on a Sanders' finish before WestConn later took a 24-23 edge. The two teams traded points until two errors gave the Leopards a 27-25 set win.

SERIES NOTES:

• The Leopards have taken two of the three all-time meetings between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth travels to crosstown rival Emerson on Tuesday night.

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