Eleven Colonels Record Kills as Volleyball Sweeps Bucs

Eleven Colonels Record Kills as Volleyball Sweeps Bucs

MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College women's volleyball team defeated the Buccaneers of the Mass. Maritime Academy on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Colonels even up their record at 3-3 while the Bucs fall to 1-3.

The teams traded points to start the first set, leading to a Curry service error making the score 5-4 in favor of the hosts. The Colonels then rattled off nine consecutive points, spearheaded by three kills from sophomore Lexi Pereira (Attleboro, Mass.). The Buccaneers broke the run thanks to a kill from Hannah Tarbox (Attleboro, Mass.), but struggled to string points together as the Colonels earned a 73.3 side-out percentage in the first set. As the first frame neared its close, the hosts broke off another run, this time over four points, to make the score 22-10. The lead would be more than enough to keep their guests at bay and close out the first set by a score of 25-14.

The Colonels looked to extend their lead entering the second game and took the first two points, but failed to capitalize and dropped the next pair. After a couple of side-outs led to a 3-3 score, Curry scored the next eight points, this time led by three kills from sophomore Amanda Wood (Tokyo, Japan). The Colonels kept the stanza firmly in control, thanks largely in part to their 15 kills in the set, their most in a single frame over the previous three matches.

With a 2-0 edge heading into set three, Curry wasted no time, taking a 13-2 lead to start the frame. Mass. Maritime battled back to a 19-9 score and gave the hosts a brief scare by fighting off match point with six straight points, but the run was far too late, as the Colonels closed the set with a 25-15 victory.

The Colonel offense was led by Pereira, who racked up 11 kills on an immaculate .550 hitting percentage. The sophomore was one of 11 Curry players to record at least one kill in the match. Captains Lex Bell (Salem, Conn.) and Shea Mathews (Concord, N.H.) led the way in assists (22) and digs (20), respectively. Mathews also collected four aces on the evening. The hosts additionally boasted three players with double-digit serve attempts and zero service errors in Mathews (20), Wood (11), and freshman Amber Buttaro (Tewksbury, Mass., 11). Marie Harrison (Weymouth, Mass.) topped the stat sheet for Mass. Maritime with five kills, while libero Christina Ruggeri (Bourne, Mass.) led the team with 19 digs. Michelle Sheehan (Attleboro, Mass.) turned in 13 assists to round out the team leaders.

The Colonels get back to work when they host their only home tri-match of the year on Saturday, September 14. Emmanuel College and Husson University will come to Milton, Mass. for matches at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. Curry will play the Saints in the first match and will close out the day against the Eagles in the late game. The Bucs also return to the court on Saturday, as they travel to face Merchant Marine at 2:00 p.m. in the first of three games they will play as part of the 2019 Maritime Classic.

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