MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College women's volleyball team picked up a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Becker College at Katz Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Colonels move to 4-2 on the season while the Buccaneers and Hawks finished the day with 1-4 and 2-4 overall records, respectively.
Match One- Curry 3, Mass Maritime 0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-12)
Curry won by set scores of 25-13, 25-16 and 25-12 to take the match in straight sets. Grace Stafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) led all players with nine kills to lead the way. Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) added six kills while Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) chipped in with five kills. Monica Wilkes (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) handed out 24 assists to fuel the offense, which finished with 26 kills on the match.
Mass. Maritime got solid contributions from Marie Harrison (Weymouth, Mass.), Jennifer Roy (Attleboro, Mass.) and Maddie Coughlin (Monroe, Conn.). Roy finished with five kills while the other two each contributed two. Michelle Sheehan (Attleboro, Mass.) tallied nine assists while Roy led the defense with six digs.
The Buccaneers jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set but the Colonels would respond. Following an attack error to make the score 4-4, Curry went on an 8-0 run which eventually put the lead to 16-6. The lead remained at least seven points for the remainder of the set, one that the Colonels captured by a final of 25-13 to give them a 1-0 advantage.
The second set was tight within the first 14 points, with Curry having an 8-6 after Stafford converted a kill. The lead ballooned to 12 after a kill by Kilduff and the Colonels would go on to get within one set of the match with a 25-16 second set victory.
The final set was all Curry, building a 10 point lead after the first 20 points (15-5). Mass. Maritime was able to chip away at the deficit but would not get any closer than eight points for the remainder of the frame. The Colonels captured the third set 25-12, finished off with a kill by Kilduff.
Match Two - Curry 3, Becker 0 (25-10, 25-13, 25-13)
Curry continued their strong play on the day by defeating Becker in straight sets (25-10, 25-13, 25-13). Rice led the way with 10 kills. The senior co-captain hit an impressive .429 on the match. Stafford was not far behind with eight kills while Wilkes finished with five. Wilkes dished out 21 assists while Carroll recorded a match-high 16 digs.
Becker was led by Emily Peterman (Vancouver, Wash.), Morgan Gould (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Dupree with four kills apiece. Landry handed out eight assists while Cotnoir paced the squad with 10 digs.
Curry jumped out to a 4-1 lead which would eventually stretch to seven when the score would be 15-8 in favor of the Colonels after a kill by Wilkes. Curry caught fire and went on a 12-0 run, half of which came by way of kills by Rice. The teams traded the final four points of the set as the Colonels would take it 25-10.
Curry started quickly once again, winning 15 of the first 20 points. The Colonels started the final set on a 9-1 run to build that lead. A five point run later in the set stretched the lead to 11 and then would reach 13 when the score was 22-9. Becker outscored the Colonels 4-3 over the final seven points of the set but it was Curry that came out on top, 25-13.
The final set was tight over the first 12 points, each winning six. Curry would begin to pull away when they went on an 8-0 run to build a 14-6 advantage. Another run, this time of four points sent the lead to 10 at 19-9. The Colonels outscored the Hawks 6-4 over the final 10 points to give Curry the 25-13 third set victory and the match.
Curry hits the road for five matches, their first stop being at Mount Ida on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Becker will travel to Nichols on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. while Mass. Maritime plays Salem State in a road contest on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.
