University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Rhode Island
UMass Volleyball Dominates Rams
October 31, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2001
AMHERST, Mass.- The University of Massachusetts volleyball team dominated their way to a 3-0 sweep over the visiting Rams of Rhode Island this evening in Curry Hicks Cage.
UMass played an all-around solid match, hitting for a combined .370, committing just nine attack errors and using 10 aces to cruise to their fifth Atlantic 10 victory. The Minutewomen, who lost the the Rams on Oct. 9 at URI, used a well executed offense to clinch the win.
UMass took game one with a deadly and accurate offense which terminated 13 kills (.355) including five by senior Janeen DeMarte (El Paso, Texas). The Rams hit for .000 as nine attack errors and three service errors led to the 30-16 Minutewoman win.
The Minutewomen turned up the intensity in game two, hitting for .459. Sophomore Nitia Small (Los Angeles, Calif.) led all scorers with eight kills and senior Lymarie Llovet (Arecibo, Puerto Rico) added five in the 30-19 win. Rhode Island hit for .100, led by Michelle Fulton with four kills.
UMass kept momentum in game three, terminating 14 kills and three aces to pull ahead of the Rams, 30-18. The Minutewomen defense held URI to a -.024 hitting percentage and used four blocks to take the match, 3-0.
The Minutewomen were led by Small with a match-high 16 kills. Llovet recorded 11 kills, 16 digs and three aces while DeMarte added 10 kills and 13 digs in the winning effort. Freshman Sam Hartwell (St. Anselmo, Calif.) collected four aces and eight digs for the Minutewomen. Clare Baxter (Miami, Fla.) added five blocks.
URI was led by Fulton with nine kills and Amy Kauppila with seven. The Minutewomen successfully shut down the scoring tandem of Brooke Ecklund and Yolanda Bogacz (six kills apiece) to keep the Rams in check and earn the win.
The victory improves UMass' record to 12-11 overall and 5-8 in the Atlantic 10. Rhode Island slips to 13-10 overall and 9-4 in the A-10.
UMass returns to A-10 action Friday, Nov. 2, as it travels to play George Washington for a 7:00 p.m. match.
