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Coming into a pivotal weekend, the University of Maine volleyball team had suffered four straight America East losses and fallen to the bottom of the conference standings. True to the form they’ve displayed over the last three seasons, the Black Bears bounced back with two wins that put them right back into the middle of the championship picture.
Yesterday’s 3-1 victory at the University of Hartford, coupled with Friday’s 3-1 triumph over Stony Brook, improves UMaine to 4-4 in America East action and puts them just a half game out of the fourth and final playoff spot.
The Hawks’ Jenifer Monroy celebrated her 1,000th career kill during the match, but coach Lynn Atherley’s squad spoiled her party with a decisive 3-1 win. The Black Bears took the match with game wins of 30-18, 30-21 and 30-15. Hartford did manage its first single-game win of the season, 30-27, in the second set, but UMaine won the next two to get the match win.
Senior setter Shelly Seipp dished out 47 assists to guide the Black Bears, but it was the underclassmen who made the difference. Freshman Laura Goettsch continued her emergeance as a threat with 15 kills ,and sophomore Jessica Wolfenden matched her output with 15 of her own. Sophomore Lindsay Allman chipped in a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
The Black Bears had one of their most efficient offensive days of the season with a .289 hitting percentage compared to the Hawks’ .091.
Friday night at the Pit in Memorial Gym, the Black Bears gained some revenge and served notice that they were still a force in America East. Visiting third-place Stony Brook went down 3-1 as UMaine claimed close games that had been their ailment all season to secure the victory.
UMaine outlasted the Seawolves to claim a 32-30 win in game one. Stony Brook shot back by winning game two with three of the final four points as a 27-27 deadlock became a 30-28 decision in favor of the Seawolves.
The Black Bears came out of the gate hungry and claimed a decisive 30-21 game-three win that turned the match. UMaine led 12-6 early and extended the advantage to 20-11 and 25-14 with impressive runs, but Stony Brook scored four straight to make 28-21. UMaine scored the final two for a 30-21 win, with the match point scored on a block from freshman Amanda Armstrong.
The Seawolves didn’t lay down in game four, as the set was tied 5-5, 14-14 and 17-17. The Black Bears used a 7-3 run to take a 24-20 lead and held on for a 30-28 win that sealed the win and put them back on the winning track for the first time in five tries.
Seipp led all players with 47 assists and had a double-double with 11 digs, while Goettsch had a career-best 17 kills and Allman had another double-double with 11 kills and a match-high 24 digs.
Armstrong gave the Black Bears the biggest lift, notched a career-high 11 kills while filling in for sophomore Brittany Kiehl, who didn’t play for undisclosed reasons.
The Black Bears look to continue their winning ways and move further up the standings with a two-game road trip next weekend, visiting the University at Albany on Friday night and traveling to the University of New Hampshire for a Sunday match.
