LEICESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers shut down non-conference crosstown rivals, Becker College Hawks, Thursday (Oct. 8) evening at the Leicester Gymnasium. The Lancers defeated the Hawks 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-19) for the second time this season.
The Blue and Gold's offense was the difference as they hit .333 with 40 kills, compared to 23 kills and a .132 hitting percentage for the Hawks. Worcester State also had double the number of services aces (12-to-6).
Leading the Lancers both offensively and defensively was senior Jennifer Cabral (Swansea, Mass.) who had 13 kills with a stunning .524 attack percentage. Cabral came one short of a double-double as she also recorded nine digs on the night.
Sophomore Alysia Pearce (Pepperell, Mass.) and junior Jamika Townsend (Virginia Beach, Va.) each recorded seven kills on the night – also with phenomenal attack percentages of .429 and .500, respectively. Freshman Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.) logged five kills, while sophomore Megan Rouillard (Barrington, NH) tallied up four with a .667 attack percentage.
Townsend led the team with a match-high 26 assists, while senior Kaylee Leduc (Swansea, Mass.) added in four assists and had the match-high service aces with four.
Joining Cabral on the defensive end was freshman Elexi Miskiv (Centerville, Mass.) with seven digs. Townsend and Leduc also tallied in six apiece.
For the Hawks, junior Marissa Turner (Coventry, Mass.) and freshman Kayla Dupree (North Bergen, N.J.) led Becker with six kills apiece. Turner added three aces while Dupree recorded a trio of blocks. Freshman setter Brittany Bullis (Stafford, Va.) notched a match-high 10 digs. Setter Charlene Landry (Gorham, Maine) posted 18 assists.
The first set started as a back and forth contest that was tied at 10-10 on a Becker error. Unfortunately for the hosts, Becker allowed the Lancers to go on an 8-1 run that secured the first set for the visitors. A similar run off the serve of Worcester State's Miskiv in the second set turned a 5-5 tie into a 12-5 Lancer advantage that Becker could not come back from.
The teams traded service runs in the third set with Turner and Bullis going on an 8-2 streak to put the Hawks ahead, 16-15. However, Becker couldn't sustained that momentum and the Lancers scored five points off Cabral's serve on their way to winning the deciding set, 25-19.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 6-10 on the season, while the Becker Hawks drop to 7-10.
The Blue and Gold will be back in action this weekend as they will take on Salve Regina and Worcester city rivals, WPI, in a tri-match hosted by Salve Regina this weekend in Newport, RI.
Portions of this release courtesy of Becker College Sports Information
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