(Box Score)
BOSTON, Mass. - Freshman middle hitter Shannon
Thompson (Moorpark, Calif.) smashed a career-high 24 kills and
senior outside hitter Kate McWhorter (Bakersfield, Calif.)
registered 14 of her 18 kills in the final two sets Saturday
afternoon to lead the number one seed University of Massachusetts
Boston over number two seed Plymouth State University, 3-1, in the
Little East Conference women's volleyball championship at UMB's
Clark Center.
UMB won by scores of 25-17, 13-25, 25-15, and 25-14 to and capture
the school's first-ever Little East Conference tournament
championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament. The Panthers, who are ranked 12th in
the latest NCAA Division III New England Women's Volleyball
Association poll, fall to 30-5 and will await word on a post-season
tournament berth.
The Beacons, who are ranked second in the latest NCAA Division III
New England Women's Volleyball poll, win their school-record
16th straight contest and have won 27 of their last 29
matches to improve to 29-4 overall. UMass Boston having its
best season in school history and will learn its NCAA opponent on
Monday, Nov. 9.
The Beacons held just a 10-9 edge in the opening set, before
reeling off 10 unanswered points during the service of sophomore
Cassy Hanneman (Denver, Colo.). She fired three aces during
the run to give the home team a 19-9 advantage, before closing out
the set. Plymouth State responded in the second set with
seven of the first eight points for a 7-1 lead and later owed an
18-7 advantage, before handing UMass Boston its first set loss by a
Little East Conference opponent this season to snap a streak of 25
straight frames without a loss.
The Beacons returned the favor in the third set by racing out
to a 6-1 lead, but the Panthers answered with a 5-1 run to close to
within 7-6 and stayed close at 13-12. UMass Boston put some
distance between it and the visitors with five straight points
coming during Thompson's serve to take an 18-12 lead. The
Beacons scored seven of the next 10 points to win to take a 2-1
lead in the match. UMB took control of the fourth set with an
early 8-3 lead and later increased its advantage to 17-7 with a 9-4
run. Plymouth State would come to within 23-14, before the
Beacons shined with the final two points to win the conference
crown.
Thompson came out strong for UMass Boston with 10 kills in 14
attempts and finished the day with a .525 hitting mark to go with
seven digs and a pair of aces, while McWhorter finished with a .378
hitting percentage to go with 13 digs for her 15th
double-double of the campaign. Sophomore setter Cassy
Hanneman (Denver, Colo.) was the catalyst for the offense with 43
assists in addition to four aces and 14 digs, and freshman libero
Bethany Rossoll (Colorado Springs, Colo.) scooped up 14 digs to
contribute to the defense.
Senior middle hitter Eliza Badeau (Foster, R.I.)
led the Panthers with 13 kills on a .323 hitting clip and added a
block, while sophomore Meghan Sullivan (Marlton,
N.J.) contributed with a strong serving game to the tune of four
aces in addition to six kills. Senior Megan
Elliott (West Haven, Conn.) chipped in with six kills,
while senior setter Brianna Kleckner (Terryville,
Conn.) controlled the action with 30 assists to go with 12
digs. Sophomore libero Alex Avery (Milton,
N.H.) and junior defensive specialist Kelsey Petty
(Salem, N.H.) got down for 14 and 13 digs, respectively.
(Courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information)
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