Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – After a one season hiatus, the top-seeded Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team returned to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship after defeating fourth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-0.
The win for RWU also give the Hawks its first 20-win season since 2014. The Hawks will return to the conference championship match for the eighth time in nine seasons.
The match started with a long volley that ended up going in favor of the Leopards. Samantha Lassiter blocked a Grace Kenningham (Houston, Texas) kill attempt to open the set. The Leopards grabbed two more points, but a Meghan Chartier (Inverness, Ill.) service ace put the Hawks on the board.
The Leopards got out to a 3-8 lead to force the Hawks to call an early time out.
The Hawks came out of the time out with a dump over the net by Maddie Neuberger (Remsenburg, N.Y.), but the Hawks were unable to keep the momentum going. The Leopards pulled out to a 13-6 lead before a Molly Quilty (Duxbury, Mass.) attack broke Wentworth's scoring streak. A Nicki Fallisi (Salem, N.H.) service ace put another point on the board for Hawks.
Julia Fields (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) dumped one over the net helped the Hawks start a rally. They came within two points of the Leopards with an attack error by Leah Rogoz (Woodridge, Ill.) and a kill by Quilty. The score was 17-19.
Quilty started play after a Wentworth time out with a block on a kill attempt by Caroline Shae. A kill by Kenningham tied the set for the first time since the score was 3-3. The Hawks took the lead 20-19 which forced Wentworth to use their second timeout.
The Leopards tied it back up at 20 on an attack error by Kenningham. The Hawks then went on a 5-point run for a come-from-behind first set win.
The Hawks scored the first point of the second set, but the Leopards answered back with two points to grab an early lead, but the Hawks tied it up at 2 on a Lara LoIacono (Lynbrook, N.Y.) kill.
The Hawks kept a lead in the first half of the set, but Wentworth stayed close. A LoIacono kill forced Wentworth to take a timeout with the score at 13-9.
The timeout helped the Leopards, who tied it up on a service ace by Claire Quick. Wentworth took the lead, but it did not last long. The lead went back and forth until Wentworth established a three-point lead, which forced the Hawks to take their first timeout of the set.
Quilty came out of the timeout with a quick kill, which was followed by a kill by Kenningham. Another kill by Kenningham tied the set up at 20.
Meghan Smith's (Blauvelt, N.Y.) kill tied it at 21 and Julia Fields' lob gave the Hawks the lead at 22. Wentworth called their second timeout of the set.
The Hawks took the set 25-22 on a huge kill by LoIacono.
Neuberger had two kills to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead to start the third set. Wentworth responded with a point but Fallisi's cross-court kill gave the Hawks the ball back.
The Hawks found a rhythm and opened up a 10-4 lead when Wentworth called a timeout.
The Leopards' timeout broke the Hawks' momentum by scoring five points.
A block by Quilty brought the score to 16-13. Wentworth's second timeout came with the score at 18-13.
The Hawks were up 23-17 when Fields' service ace gave the Hawks match point. A frantic volley led to a kill by LoIacono for the 25th point and a trip to the CCC championship game.
In the win, Kenningham led the team in kills with 11, while Neuberger and LoIacono both had nine. Quilty finished with four total blocks. Fields had 32 assists and six kills. Fallisi led with the team with 17 digs and Chartier followed her with 12.
Rogoz led Wentworth with ten kills to go along with 12 digs. Lexie Cambray (Bedford, N.H.) finished with 13 digs, while Katie Clouse (Hudson Falls, N.Y.) and Maddy Tomastik (Portland, Ore.) had 13 and 11 assists, respectively.
Roger Williams (20-6) will host #2 Endicott Saturday at 2:30 pm in the CCC Championship. Endicott defeated the Seahawks 3-0 earlier in the other conference semifinal match. Wentworth wraps up its season at 25-5.
