Women's Volleyball 11/3/2012 3:42:00 PM

Fourth straight CCC Championship for Volleyball with win over Salve Regina

BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University claimed its fourth consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship Saturday with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-25-15) win over Salve Regina University.

Roger Williams held the momentum through the match, never trailing in any game. The first set started with a kill by Krystie Luczynski (Kensington, Conn.), before Salve would come back to tie the set at three on a kill by Katelyn Beauregard (Dartmouth, Mass.). Andrea Gorman (Wilbraham, Mass.) answered with a kill of her own for RWU, sparking a 9-1 run for the Hawks. Salve pulled within six (9-15) on an RWU service error, but would never come closer over the remainder of the match. Luczysnki would end the set the same way it started, spiking the game-winning point to give RWU a 1-0 lead.

In the second set, the Hawks jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Emily Lipinski (Hampden, Mass.) knocked down a kill to put the Seahawks on the board. Salve Regina played the Hawks close throughout the set, staying with four points early on. Taylor Violet (Tiverton, R.I.) put down a point to ultimately tie the game at 15 and force an RWU timeout. After the break, the Hawks rolled off a 6-1 run, helped in part by four Seahawk errors. Roger Williams would eventually come away with the 25-18 win on back-to-back Seahawk errors.

Roger Williams opened up the third set on another 4-0 run, leading to a 12-3 Hawk lead. Roger Williams stayed in control through most of the set, including getting back-to-back solo blocks by Luczynski to take a commanding 15-4 lead. RWU would lead 22-8 before Salve put up a late rally, scoring five straight points to make it 22-13. Yet the run would not be enough, with Kelsey Twarog (Barkhamsted, Conn.) securing the 25-15 win with a kill and clinching another CCC title for the Hawks.

"The team has been on task all week; it started with preparing for Western New England and Salve Regina," said Head Coach Ben Somera. "I think everybody going into a match like that—a playoff match or championship match—feels confident when they feel they've prepared well.

"Everybody had a great game, and sometime the stats don't always tell you the value of somebody's effort. Our last two matches were great team efforts for us. It's a great accomplishment for our seniors to win four straight titles."

Luczynski finished with a match-high 12 kills on .550 hitting while adding six blocks (two solo, four assists) for Roger Williams. Twarog and Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) each added ten kills apiece. Nicole Weber (Poulsbo, Wash.) handed out 30 assists, while Kelsee Loche (Millis, Mass.) went for 16 digs and three service aces.

Clare Adams (New Concord, Ohio) led Salve Regina with eight kills. Beauregard had seven kills, while Jennifer Duggan (Merrimack, N.H.) finished with six kills, ten digs, and a pair of assists. Violet had 21 assists to go along with four kills and six digs.

The top-seeded Hawks (21-10) earn the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins next weekend. Roger Williams will find out its opponent on Monday during the NCAA Selection Show. Salve Regina ends the season with a record of 17-13.

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