Women's Volleyball Swept at WPI Tri-Match

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University women's volleyball team suffered a pair of straight-set defeats Saturday against WPI and Endicott. Set scores against WPI were 25-20, 25-20, 25-18, and against Endicott 25-13, 25-19, 25-20.

With the losses, Worcester State falls to 0-2 on the young season.

The Lancers were right in the opening match against WPI, and were tied at 17-17 approaching the end of the opening set before the hosts engineered a 5-1 run to take the set all but out of reach. 

The second set closely resembled the opener, as the Lancers took a 16-15 lead on a Natalie Gillis (Ashland, Mass.) kill, but the Engineers responded with an 8-1 run, en route to taking a commanding 2-0 lead.

With Megan Johns (Burrillville, R.I.) at the service line, Worcester State jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, but WPI took over from there, closing out the sweep by taking the set 25-18.

Gillis and sophomore Leelle Tyler (Longmeadow, Mass.) led Worcester State offensively with six kills each in the opener. Senior Katie Gagnon (Hampden, Mass.) was solid on both sides of the ball, recording 16 assists, five digs, and one block.

Endicott was dominant in the first set of the Lancers' set match of the day, with 12 kills and just two errors offensively. The second set appeared to be headed down a similar path, but the Lancers battled back from an early 10-6 deficit to take an 11-10, thanks in part to two kills from freshman Camryn Burgio (Quincy, Mass.) on the 5-0 run. The Lancers were unable to keep the momentum going as the set progressed however, and the Gulls went ahead 2-0.

Set three was close down to the finish, but Endicott record the final three points of the set to clinch the match. 

Gillis led all Lancers with eight kills in the loss, while also recording 13 digs. Senior Stephanie Chapin (Hampden, Mass.) picked up seven kills and two blocks, while sophomore Brooke Lamothe (Tewksbury, Mass.) led the way defensively with a match-high 14 digs.

Worcester State will continue the hunt for its first win of the season on Tuesday evening when they welcome Rhode Island College to Brissette Court. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.

#WooWVB