Women’s Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Loss in Home Opener vs. Wentworth

BOSTON – The Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards used 43 team kills while hitting .322 from the floor over three sets, lifting them to a straight-sets win (25-16, 25-20, 25-11) over the Emmanuel Saints on Saturday morning in Emmanuel's home opener at the Jean Yawkey Center.

The Leopards were out in front early in the opening set, jumping out to a five-point advantage and holding the lead throughout the early going. The Saints cut the deficit to 14-11, midway through the set, but a Wentworth five-point run gave them their largest lead of the set, 19-11. The sides traded points to the end of the set as Leopards first-year Emma Sanders (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) capped off the first with a kill and a 25-16 win.

In the second, the sides battled for momentum to a 10-10 tie. Similar to the first, WIT found a scoring run at a critical time, using a 10-2 run to take a 20-12 lead. The Saints wouldn't go down without a fight, storming back with eight of the next nine points, cutting the deficit down to 21-18. Time would run out on Emmanuel, as Wentworth managed to outlast the Saints in the set, capped off by a kill for first-year Kate McLane (Columbus, Ohio) for a 25-20 win.

The third and final set belonged to Wentworth from the start as they opened play with an 11-1 run. The WIT lead ballooned to as many as a dozen in the middle of the set, as the third was in the grasp of the Leopards from start-to-finish in the 25-11 win.

McLane finished with a match-best 13 kills while hitting .400 from the floor. She added four aces and two blocks in the victory. Sanders had 12 kills for a third consecutive match and hit a career-best .250 on the day. Graduate student Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) and junior Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) both had seven kills.

Saints sophomore Wiktoria Galazyn (Plainville, Conn.) had a team-high eight kills to go with an attack percentage of .300. Sophomore Isabella Marquez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) added four kills in the defeat.

The Saints (1-1) are back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 12, traveling to Rhode Island College for a 7:00 p.m. match against the Anchorwomen. The Leopards (4-1) play host to Colby-Sawyer on Sept. 13 at 6:00 p.m.