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Volleyball Wins First Match of Season Against Sacred Heart
Sept. 7, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CT - The University of Maine volleyball team won their first game of the season Friday 3-1 (30-18, 28-30, 30-15, 30-18) against Sacred Heart. The match was the opener for the Yale Invitational at Yale University in New Haven, CT. Volleyball improves to 1-7 on the season with the win. Maine led the whole way in the first game. Behind freshman Megan Smith and junior Margaret Page, the Black Bears had 17 kills in the game alone. Jumping out of the block with 6 straight points, Maine held off the Pioneers when they came back with 4 points of their own. At one point the score in the game was 19-9 in Maine's favor and the Black Bears never looked back. They went on to win the game 30-18. The second game was the closest of the match. Maine pulled away after a trading points with Pioneers to 18-13. But Sacred Heart was resilient and tied the score late in the game. A rally late saw the Pioneers even the match at 1 game each. In the third game, Maine got back on the ball behind junior Lindsay Allman's 5 kills. After trading points early, Maine 2 seperate 5 point runs to secure the game. They ended up well ahead at 30-15. The fourth game saw another close one again with the two teams trading points at the beginning. But slowly Maine started pulling away with every server adding 3 points for every Sacred Heart point. A late 5 point run sealed the match for the Black Bears 30-18.
The Black Bears were led by Megan Smith with 15 kills. Margaret Page and Lindsay Allman also contributed 13 kills. Junior Jessica Wolfenden led Maine with 29 assists with freshman Paige Tortorello adding 20 of her own. Maine was led in digs in the match by junior Ashlee Wright with 17 and Allman right behind her with 14. Maine had 6 blocks as a team to Sacred Heart's 5.
The Pioneers were led in kills by Mydori Saipale with 13. Courtney Kidd-Kadlubek led Sacred Heart with 29 assists. And Saipale also contributed 14 digs. The Black Bears will conclude the Yale Invitational on Saturday when they play Rhode Island at 12pm and hosts Yale at 7pm. Maine will next return home for an exhibition match with the University of New Brunswick on September 22. --UM-- |
