WPI Takes Out Eastern Nazarene in Straight Sets

Quincy, MA --- A balanced attack helped WPI spoil Homecoming for Eastern Nazarene in a non-conference volleyball match played Saturday morning.   The Engineers cruised to a 3-0 victory with sets of 25-6, 25-9, 25-14 for their sixth straight victory to improve to 16-5 on the season.

The Crimson and Gray scored the opening three points and never trailed at all in the match.   The guests hit .305 on the day, second best in 21 matches this season, including a jaw-dropping .455 in the second set, smashing 13 kills and making just three errors in 22 tries in the middle frame.

Azita Bakhtyari (Andover, MA) was the only player for either team to reach double figures in any statistical category other than attempts.   The freshman doled out 11 assists on the day to go along with four digs. Caroline Meyer (Easton, MA) also was strong as a setter, handing seven assists and totaling three digs.  Casey Hunt (Granby, CT) blasted a match-best eight kills, finishing with just one less than the Lions amassed all match, and Kat Hurlock (Burlington, CT) chipped in with six.

Cassandra Tomerlin (La Quinta, CA) paced all players with seven digs while sharing match-high honors with Ann Kaczowka (Seekonk, MA) in aces with three. Sam Bircsak (Acton, MA) stuffed the stat sheets with four kills, five digs and two blocks and Brooke Klepper (Miami Beach, MA), Melissa Daigle (Norfolk, MA), Brianna Parent (Epping, NH) and Bakhtyari registered multiple kills.  

Victoria Nassar (Salem, MA) totaled three digs, an ace and an assist while Holly Shumway (Franklin, MA) recorded a third set dig.

"We had a lot of great contributions today from our entire team, remarked WPI head coach Greg Poole. "We had the opportunity to mix up our line-ups and experiment with a variety of offensive plays.  It was great to see our players perform at such a consistantly high level throughout the entire match."

Hannah Welsh (Derry, NH) led the home team with five kills while notching six digs, four assists and two aces. Madisen Robinson (West Grove, PA) tallied a pair of kill and five digs while Joanna Joseph (Brockton, MA) finished with two kills. Kayla Dean (Lansdale, PA) posted five assists and Oksana DiCamillo (Eighty-Four, PA) recorded five digs.

WPI is at Springfield Tuesday evening for a key NEWMAC match.  Eastern Nazarene hits the road for a non-conference match at Framingham State on Monday.

Portions Courtesy Eastern Nazarene Sports Information