Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Wentworth Institute of Technology staved off a University of New England match-point at 14-12 in the deciding set and tallied five of the next seven to come away with a 3-2 women's volleyball result (17-25, 25-13, 20-25, 25-18, 18-16) as the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) schedule opened up on Tuesday night (Sep. 21) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Viviann Goulet put down her third kill of the 5th frame to give the Leopards a 15-14 edge. Lauren Davenport and Goulet traded blows, and then Stephanie Erickson and Goulet did, as the score moved to 17-16. UNE's ninth error of the final stanza sealed the comeback for the visitors. The last session was, by far, the most competitive of the evening, featuring eight ties and five lead-changes. The Nor'easters had notched five in-a-row to go up 9-6 and faced a 12-11 deficit as the end neared.

UNE surged out of the gate and soon 11 unanswered established a 13-4 cushion in the 1st. Davenport, who posted four kills during the set, dropped down five aces in the run, alone. Six straight points, and two more aces from Addie Miller, put things out of reach (20-9).

Riley Waggoner found a groove early in the 2nd for WIT, registering four of her six winners in the set as part of a 5-1 start. Ahead 14-11, the Leopards closed the stanza with 11 of 13, including three kills from Helen Barthe.

The Nor'easters, again, capitalized on a huge spurt (12-1) to regain the momentum in the middle period and get out to a 14-3 lead. Viktoria Pavlyuk knocked down half of her eight kills within the set during the stretch, while Erickson tossed in a pair of aces. Wentworth got as close as 23-20.

The Leopards returned the favor in the 4th, assembling a 12-1 run to go up 20-8. Each of the first six points in the span came from the hands of Waggoner or Ema Thompson.

Overall, Waggoner accounted for 15 kills and shared in five blocks, and Goulet added 13 kills for Wentworth (8-5, 1-0 CCC). Barthe and Thompson finished with nine apiece, while going for 17 and 13 digs, respectively. Megan Davies led the defensive effort with 19 digs. Ashley Cao guided most of the attack with 31 assists, and had 10 digs.

UNE (3-7, 0-1 CCC) received match highs of 16 kills and seven aces from Davenport, topping all players at 23 points. Pavlyuk recorded 14 kills, and Erickson contributed nine more. Miller posted her fourth double-double of the year with 36 assists and 11 digs. Davenport reached double digits with 11 digs, as well, supporting a back line that was paced by the 28 digs of Paige Weatherbee.

The Nor'easters get one day of rest before entertaining Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Thursday (6 p.m.). UNE swept the Monks (14/17/12) in the second match of the season.