BOSTON, Mass. – The Curry College women's volleyball team lost to the Wentworth Institute of Technology in straight sets on Wednesday evening. The Leopards improve to 16-5 with their tenth win in 11 matches, while upping their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) record to 4-1. The Colonels sit at 11-9 overall with a 0-4 league mark.
Wentworth took control of the first set early on, forcing their guests to take a timeout just 10 points into the match as the Leopards held an 8-2 lead. A kill by Lexi Pereira (Attleboro, Mass.) brought the score to 9-5, but Wentworth continued to capitalize on Curry's inconsistent serve receive and extended their lead to 12 at 19-7 after a service ace. The Colonels collected a pair of points near the end of the set, but the first frame closed with a score of 25-9, Wentworth.
The teams traded points to open set two, with the Colonels grabbing a brief 3-2 advantage, but Wentworth took seven of the next eight points and went up 9-4. A Leopard attack error cut the deficit to three at 17-14, but the hosts regained control with a six point run. Service errors by Wentworth on consecutive side-outs gave Curry a chance at 24-16, but the Leopards secured a 2-0 lead in the match by grabbing the next point to take the set by a score of 25-16.
As the third set got underway, Curry showed they were looking to avoid the sweep, as a kill by Amanda Wood (Tokyo, Japan) made the score 7-6 in favor of the Colonels. However, the Leopards continued to push forward, breaking off small runs of points little-by-little, leading to a kill by Krisila Hammett (Boiling Springs, S.C.) which made the score 18-13 in favor of the hosts. Curry worked to chip away at the deficit, but the lead would be too much to overcome, as the Leopards grabbed the CCC win thanks to a 25-18 set three victory.
No player turned in double-digit kills in the match, but five Leopards recorded 5+, led by the nine of Samantha Lassiter (Rogers, Ark.). Chaise Kakuk (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) topped the hosts with 28 assists while Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) grabbed 14 digs. Curry's senior libero Lex Bell (Salem, Conn.) held down the Colonel defense with 13 digs, while Rachel Damstra (Houston, Texas) dished out 13 helpers. Wood was credited with a team-high eight kills.
The Colonels wrap up their non-conference schedule with a pair of matches this Saturday, October 19. Curry will face Fitchburg State at 1:00 p.m. before taking on the hosting Rams of Framingham State at 3:00 p.m. The Leopards will also get back to work as they hit the road for a Saturday tri-match. Wentworth is scheduled to take on Regis in Weston, Mass. at 12:00 p.m. then face off against the Southern Maine Huskies at 2:00 p.m.
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