Sept. 26, 2009

Box Score

The UMass Lowell volleyball team kicked off its pair of Saturday games with a bang, downing Franklin Pierce in a three set sweep. The River Hawks were led by sophomore middle blocker Lea Freeman (Methuen, MA) with nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.

The match scores were 25-19, 25-15 and 25-22.

UMass Lowell exchanged blows with the Ravens to start, before Ashlee Scott (Quincy, MA) served back-to-back aces to give the River Hawks momentum and the lead. The first set slipped away from Franklin Pierce as they couldn't keep pace with UMass Lowell's offense.

The second set started with much of the same as the River Hawks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, never looking back. Through steady and mostly mistake free play, they cruised to a 25-15 win.

The final set proved to be the closest, as the Ravens got into a rhythm. The score stayed within four points the entire way through and the tide appeared to be turning in Franklin Pierce's favor after UMass Lowell reached match point. The door was slammed shut with the score at 24-22, when junior Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, MA) blocked the Raven's attack with authority for the win.

The block was one of three total for Coscia, who also added eight kills. Three River Hawks reached double-digit digs as Vicky Wong (Tewksbury, MA), Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, CA) and Allie Eide (Gresham, OR) notched 16, 14 and 12, respectively. Senior setter Nichole Rondeau (Dracut, MA) also chipped in six kills, an impressive .462 hitting percentage and 22 assists quarterbacking the River Hawks offense.

UMass Lowell has one match remaining today, as they will battle Dowling at 3 p.m. in the Costello Gym.