Oct. 20, 2011

Box Score

A balanced attacked led UMass Lowell volleyball to a three-set sweep of Assumption College, 3-0, on Thursday night in the Costello Gymnasium. The River Hawks were incredibly accurate, landing a .312 team hitting percentage.

Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.), Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.) and Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) all recorded 10 kills each in the win, while the team committed just 13 total errors.

UMass Lowell improved to 10-7 overall, snapping a three-game losing streak, and 6-4 in Northeast-10 play as it jockeys for a conference playoff berth with just five regular season matches remaining. The Greyhounds continue to struggle, dropping to 6-18 on the campaign and 1-11 in NE-10 action.

In the opening set, Freeman paced the offense with five kills on eight attempts and Trina Carroll (Hampton, N.H.) picked up a pair of blocks to stifle Assumption hitters. The River Hawk lead grew as large as 12, while the team cruised to a 25-16 victory.

The second set went in similar fashion as UMass Lowell won by the identical score of 25-16. Freeman and Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) led the offense with 4 and 3 kills, respectively. However, it was the lack of an attack by the Greyhounds the landed the victory: Assumption totaled just seven kills on 28 attempts and committed six errors.

In the final set, Rey cleared the path with six kills and was trailed slightly by Peterson and Carroll who tallied five each. The Greyhounds kept the score close through much of the final set, but a four-point run by the River Hawks provided some separation at 24-17, allowing UMass Lowell to calmly close out the victory, 25-19.

In addition to her offensive contributions, Rey also led the team with nine digs, while Peterson totaled seven of her own. Carroll finished with six kills and three blocks.

Setter Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.) dished out 31 assists, while Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) pitched in with seven digs.

Bizzie Gonring (Whitefish, Wisc.) led Assumption in scoring with eight kills, while Lauren Ostafin (Avon, Conn.) added seven kills and eight digs to her resume.

The River Hawks will take the weekend off before resuming their quest for the NE-10 playoffs. UMass Lowell hosts rival Merrimack on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. in the Costello Gym.