Sept. 22, 2010

Box Score

The River Hawk volleyball team soared to a three set sweep of Bentley on Wednesday night in their Northeast-10 conference opener. The victory was the program's first over the Falcons dating back to 2003.

The win improves UMass Lowell's record to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Bentley falls to 5-6 on the season and 2-1 in NE-10 action.

The River Hawks put Bentley on its heels early, jumping out to a 5-1 lead and forcing the Falcons to call a timeout. The break didn't stop UMass Lowell's momentum as they cruised to a 25-15 victory. Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.) was explosive early, landing five kills on 10 attempts.

In an extremely close second frame, the River Hawks dug deep and pulled out a 27-25 victory. Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, Mass.) took the reigns with six kills to pull her team to the 2-0 advantage.

UMass Lowell put Bentley away in the third set, 25-15. Hadder and Coscia each tallied four kills and the River Hawks scored a .333 attack percentage to put the Falcons to rest.

For the match, Hadder and Coscia each scored 12 kills. They were helped on the attack by Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.) and Vicky Wong (Tewksbury, Mass.). Freeman had seven kills and four blocks while Wong tallied eight kills and seven digs.

Setting up the offensive attack was sophomore Kristina Wiltjer (San Diego, Calif.) who had 25 assists and nine digs.

With the victory in their pocket, the River Hawks now hit the pavement for a five-match road stand. First up, the River Hawks will travel to Old Westbury, N.Y. to play NYIT at 6 p.m. on Friday night.