Women's Volleyball Overtakes Simmons

BOSTON, Mass. – Emma Sanders recorded a double-double (17 kills, 12 digs) while hitting .571 and serving four aces and Olivia Vaughn dished out 40 assists and served six aces as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team defeated Simmons University, 3-1, in non-conference action Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth got off to a blistering start in the first set, racing out to a 9-1 lead, thanks in part to three aces from Vaughn and a pair of kills each from Sanders and Kate McLane. The Leopards upped their lead to 15-3 with Sanders adding three more kills before Simmons used a 5-2 spurt to make it 17-8. Four straight Leopard points, capped off by a Kate Koliopoulos ace gave the Black & Gold a 21-8 advantage before Wentworth took the set, 25-11. The Leopards hit .375 in the opening frame.
• The tables were turned to open the second set with the Sharks racing out to a 10-2 lead before a 6-3 Wentworth spurt closed the gap to 13-8. The hosts scored six of the next eight points and led 19-10. A pair of kills from McLane sandwiched around an attack error made it 19-13, however, that was as close as the Leopards would come as Simmons evened the match, 1-1, with a 25-17 win.
• Vaughn served a pair of aces as part of a 7-2 run to open the third set, a set that saw the Black & Gold extend a 12-8 lead to a 17-8 advantage, thanks in part to kills from Riley Schoonmaker, Ava Rocchio, and Emma Sanders. The Sharks closed the gap to 21-14 late but two kills from Schoonmaker and a kill and an ace from Sanders gave Wentworth a 2-1 edge with a 25-14 win.
• After Schoonmaker opened the fourth set with a kill, the Sharks used a 5-1 run, jumping out to a 5-2 lead. Back-to-back aces from Sanders capped off a 9-3 run, which put Wentworth on top, 11-8. Simmons closed the gap to 11-10, however, five straight Wentworth points, including a kill from Schoonmaker and an ace from Koliopoulos pushed the lead to 16-10. An 11-6 spurt brought the hosts to within one at 22-21 before McLane made it 23-21 with a kill. Simmons got the point back, pulling within one for a final time before kills from McLane and Sanders ended the match.
• Schoonmaker and McLane each recorded 10 kills, with Schoonmaker hitting .421. Rocchio added seven kills, while Koliopoulos had a pair of aces and 10 digs and Amanda Zweifler had 15 digs.

THE SERIES:

• Winners of three straight in the series, Wentworth holds a 17-9 series advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth travels to Regis on Saturday for a tri-match against the Pride and Sarah Lawrence.

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