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Sawicki, Szczepaniak power Nor'easters in sweep of Curry

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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Erika Sawicki had 13 kills with no errors (.542 attacking) and Grayson Szczepaniak tallied 16.5 points to guide the University of New England women's volleyball team in a 3-0 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over Curry College on Tuesday evening (Sep. 27) at the Harold Alfond Forum. Set scores were 25-15, 25-17, and 25-21.

The Nor'easters (7-5, 2-1 CCC) have not dropped a set now in six all-time meetings with the Colonels (6-6, 0-3 CCC).

After Sawicki's match-high in winners, Szczepaniak added 10 kills to go with five aces while sharing in three blocks. Kristen Falcinelli paced the offense with 34 assists. Defensively, Katie Flynn had 13 digs and Brittany Morrison contributed 10.

For Curry, Nicole Rice finished with 10 kills against zero errors (.526 attacking). Grace Stafford registered eight winners along with 11 digs -- the same as Nicole Grambley (11 digs) and one more than Courtney Carroll (10). Setting up the hitters were Alyssa Keeney and Makayla Hughs, who combined for 25 assists (13 & 12).

The hosts were error-free at the start, attacking at a .607 clip without any mistakes in the 1st set. Other than a tie at 1-1, UNE was in control and used a 5-0 spurt to gain separation (16-8) en route to the early lead.

In the 2nd, a 6-5 edge for the Colonels was erased by five unanswered from the Nor'easters, as Morrison dropped in two aces and three different players put down kills. The margin was 13-11 in favor of UNE before seven straight pumped the gap to 20-11. Szczepaniak had three service aces and a kill during the run, while Sawicki tacked on two of her winners.

Play tightened up the 3rd, as Curry led by four (9-5) and Big Blue swung the advantage to (18-14). The visitors pulled within two points on four occasions down the stretch, but Szczepaniak and Sawicki took a 23-21 cushion and finished things off.

UNE will head for Rhode Island this weekend (Friday 7 p.m.) for the two-day Roger Williams University Invitational, which includes matches against Bridgewater State University, Emmanuel College, and Western Connecticut State University.

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