Oct. 1, 2011

Box Score

Photo Gallery

UMass Lowell volleyball was fast and efficient in Saturday's 3-0 sweep of visiting Saint Anselm. Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.)led the charge with seven kills and five total blocks in the victory.

Bouncing back after a difficult loss to NYIT on Friday, the River Hawks improved their record to 8-4 overall this season and 4-1 in the Northeast-10. The win marked UMass Lowell's fourth sweep in 12 matches after record just six sweeps in 27 tries last year. The Hawks continue their slide with their third consecutive loss, falling to 4-9 on the campaign and 0-3 in conference play.

The River Hawks opened with a bang, catching a significant lead with an early 9-0 run. The offense was balanced, featuring three players with three kills each: Freeman, Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.) and Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.). The River Hawks' defense played a large role as well, forcing eight attack errors and scoring four blocks as they ran away with a 25-13 win.

Saint Anselm played it close in the second set, even managing a one point lead at 21-22. Despite the deficit, UMass Lowell ran off four straight points behind the hard and accurate serves of Wiltjer for the 25-22 victory. Freshman Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.)picked up four kills, while Saint Anselm committed six attack errors and four service errors, giving away crucial points.

Leading their opponent 2-0 overall, the River Hawks leaned on Saint Anselm with an aggressive service game to take the final set 25-17. Freeman tallied three kills, while the team landed four service aces to put pressure on the Hawks. Saint Anselm struggled again with mistakes, collecting six more attack errors as UMass Lowell pulled away for the victory.

On the day, Freeman and Peterson tied with team-highs of seven kills. Freeman also scored five total blocks, while Peterson added three service aces to her resume. Rey and classmate Sierra Brown (San Diego, Calif.)totaled six and five kills, respectively.

Wiltjer quarterbacked the offense with 22 assists and six digs. She also got in on the attack, landing four kills.

Saint Anselm was led by Kyla Gustavson (Nashua, N.H.) with eight kills and 10 digs.

Staying within the NE-10, UMass Lowell heads to St. Michael's on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. match.