DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Curry College women's volleyball team dropped a pair of decisions on Saturday afternoon, falling to Plymouth State 3-1 and UMass.-Dartmouth by a final of 3-0. The losses drop the Colonels to 4-6 while the Corsairs move to 5-3 overall and the Panthers move to 8-4.

Match One- Plymouth State 3, Curry 1 (19-25, 25-14, 25-12, 25-18)

After dropping the opening set by a 25-19 final, Plymouth State captured the next three sets 25-14, 25-12 and 25-18 to take the match in straight sets. Nicole Rice (Woburn, Mass.) paced the Colonels witl 11 kills. Grace Stafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) chipped in with eight kills while Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) added six kills. Monica Wilkes (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) dished out 20 assists to pace the offense, which finished with 30 kills on the match. Courtney Carroll (Fairhaven, Mass.) finished the match with 13 digs.

Plymouth State got quality performances from Ari Linden (Lena, Ill.), who finished with a match-high 13 kills. Jill Tiner (Salem, N.H.) and Alexis Bowers (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) pitched in eight each while Carabeth Norklun (Goffstown, N.H.) added seven.  Megan Bailey(Canterbury, N.H.) posted a match-high 31 assists. Brenna Peruch (Cave Creek, Ariz.) led the defense with 20 digs.

Curry started the match on the right foot using separate 6-0 and 10-0 runs to grab 19-8 advantage. Following the 10-0 spurt, UMass.-Dartmouth responded, outscoring the Colonels 11-6, but it did not matter because the lead was too large for a comeback in a set Curry captured by a 25-19 final.

The Panthers responded in the second stanza. Plymouth State doubled up the Colonels early 14-7 through the first 21 points. Curry would get as close as to within three on an attack error by Linden (14-11) but it was the Panthers closing the set on an 11-3 run to take it by a 25-14 final.

The third set went Plymouth State's way as well, with the Panthers grabbing a 10-5 lead early. Plymouth State continued its strong play, outscoring Curry 14-7 over the remainder of the set to take the frame, 25-14.

The Colonels were the first to grab a lead in the fourth set. Curry was able to grab a 7-3 lead thanks to a 5-0 run capped off by a kill from Carroll. Plymouth State responded with six straight points to reverse the deficit. The remainder of the set remained as close as five points, but it was Plymouth State hanging on for the 25-18 victory.  

Match Two – UMass.-Dartmouth 3, Curry 0 (26-24, 26-24, 25-14)

 Curry fought hard in their second match of the day but fell in straight sets (26-24, 26-24, 25-14). Rice paced the way with nine kills. Shea Mathews (Concord, N.H.) and Angela Johns (Burrillville, R.I.) each added four kills while Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) ended up with three. Wilkes handed out 18 assists Janine Medina (Pawtucket, R.I.) recorded a team-high 14 digs.

UMass.-Dartmouth was led by Amanda LaCroix (East Freetown, Mass.) and Nicole Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.), who contributed double-doubles. LaCroix posted 14 kills and 11 digs while Silverman put up 10 kills and 11 digs. Jillian Sykora (Waterford, Conn.) put up 17 digs and Jordan Rittberger (Huntington, N.Y.) dished out 27 assists.

The first set was evenly matched, with the teams trading the first 48 points. With the set tied at 24, kills by LaCroix and Silverman gave the Corsairs the first set by a 26-24 final.

The second set followed a very similar script as the first as the squads traded points until the stanza would be tied at 24. Back-to-back kills by LaCroix gave UMass.-Dartmouth an identical 26-24 victory for a two set lead.

The final set was all UMass.-Dartmouth in the early going, grabbing the first six points. Curry pulled to within as close as two (11-9) but it was the Corsairs' closing the set strong and taking the frame by a 25-14 final.

Curry returns to the court on Wednesday when they resume conference play at Nichols. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.