Seahawks sweep Buccaneers before caught by Cougars

NEWPORT, R.I. - Sophomore Leah LoConte (Marshfield, Mass.) matched a school record with 11 service aces to lead Salve Regina University women's volleyball to a 3-0 win (25-3, 25-11, 25-9) over visiting Massachusetts Maritime Academy in a tri-match with Clark University. The Cougars also swept the Buccaneers before defeating the host Seahawks in four sets (25-22, 25-12, 23-25, 26-24).

After LoConte set up a kill for senior middle blocker Jill Diffendaffer (Centennial, Colo.) for the first point of the day, the sophomore defensive specialist led the Seahawks to a 13-0 cushion with seven of her service aces. The run ended on a service error.

Junior Tara Kuck (Huntington, N.Y.) got the service back to Salve Regina after her own kill on a set by LoConte. Kuck had a pair of service aces as did freshman libero Allyson Collette (Dennis, Mass.) before the Seahawks won the opening set, 25-3.

LoConte's 11 service aces for the match equals the Seahawk record set by Julianne Barry at Eastern Nazarene (September 19, 2009). The Seahawks also matched the team record for services aces (33) from that same match.

Mass. Maritime (3-19) then faced Clark University which held the Buccaneers to single digit points in each of the three sets (25-7, 25-6, 25-8). Sophomore Emily Calnan (Hingham, Mass.) led the Buccaneers with four kills and one service ace while junior Deb Langley (Abington, Mass.) totaled 10 digs, three kills, and a service ace on the day.

Clark (9-11) was led by Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M.) in its two victories. The sophomore outside hitter topped all players with 28 kills (25 against the host school), and 24 digs (all but two against Salve Regina).

Senior Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif.) had double-digit assists in both Cougar matches, including 54 against the Seahawks.

Salve Regina (19-2), which has already exceeded its record win total from a year ago, was led by 42 assists from junior Taylor Violet (Tiverton, R.I.). Senior Clare Adams (New Concord, Ohio) and junior Jennifer Duggan (Merrimack, N.H.) finished most of Violet's sets with 16 and 15 kills, respectively.

Junior Dianna Tauro (Melrose, Mass.) led the Seahawk defensive efforts (four in double-figure dig totals) with 20 digs. Adams and Duggan had 16 digs apiece while Violet contributed a dozen.

In the Clark vs. Salve Regina match, the Seahawks led 21-18 in the first set before freshman Courtney Pharr (Seattle, Wash.) had four kills during a 6-0 stretch for the Cougars. Spera set up Anne Read (Arundel, Maine) for the set-clinching point.

Leading by six (16-10) in the second set, the Cougars captured nine of the final 11 points to move within one set of a sweep. In a tight third set, junior Erin McGloin (West Islip, N.Y.) got a kill to take service control while trailing, 17-16, and then the Seahawks took the lead on a pair of attack errors from Clark.

Salve Regina had its largest lead in the set (23-20) following a kill from junior co-captain Katelyn Beauregard (Dartmouth, Mass.). The Seahawks took the set by a two-point margin with Adams providing the final kill.

In the final set, after an attack error on its first match point, the Cougars were aced by Duggan who drew the Seahawks within one (24-23). Adams had her final kill to knot the set at 24-all before Glass-Smythe and Pharr finished the set with their kills.

Salve Regina plays at Curry on Tuesday (7 p.m.) for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match.