WORCESTER, Mass. - The Clark University Cougars were crowned the 33rd annual Worcester City Volleyball Tournament Champions Saturday afternoon, as they defeated Gordon 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 24-14) in the opening game, and downed Worcester State 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-12) in the championship game for the title tilt. Worcester State made it to the championship game after winning a 5-set thriller over WPI (24-26, 25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 15-7) in the opening round of the tournament.
OPENING GAMES
Worcester State 3, WPI 2
Worcester State won a 5-set thriller over WPI in the tournament opener with set scores of 24-26, 25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 15-7. Worcester State's Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) posted a game-high 20 kills with a .242 attack percentage and also chipped in 12 digs to register her first double-double of the season. Newcomer Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) also was a huge force in the game as she marked a double-double of 16 kills and 23 digs, along with four service aces.
For WPI, Brooke Klepper (Miami Beach, Fla.) led the attack with 13 kills followed by freshman Kate Amrein (Nashua, N.H.). WPI's Azita Bakhyari (Andover, Mass.) handed out 29 assists and came up with 24 digs. Freshman Julia DeLo (Tulsa, Okla.) accounted for 17 helpers and nine digs. Junior Victoria Nassar (Salem, NH) shared match-high honors with 26 digs followed by Bakhtyari, and seniors Melissa Daigle (Norfolk, MA) and Kelly Rathje (Scituate, Mass.) with 22 and 19, respectively. Daigle also served up four aces.
Clark 3, Gordon 0
Clark defeated Gordon 3-0 in the opening round with set scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 24-14.
Clark was led by Marina Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) who posted a double-double of 15 kills and 17 digs. Jacqueline Jimenez-Maldonado (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded 10 kills in the win. Rachel Webb (Celina, Texas) marked 14 helpers, while Rayme Quiban (Seattle, Wash.) earned team-high honors in service aces with 4. She also was dugout 16 balls in the win.
For Gordon, Ashlyn Gergins (Murrieta, Calif.) earned a game-high 15 assists and collected 12 digs for a double-double. Jenny Curtiss (Larkspur, Colo.) led the Fighting Scots in digs (14), while Amanda Snyder (San Jose, Calif.) led the way in kills (7).
Clark posted a .202 team attack percentage, while Gordon recorded was held to a .042 team percentage.
CONSOLATION GAME
Gordon 3, WPI 2
WPI saw their third 5-set game this week in the consolation game as they came short of a comeback and dropped the fifth set by a score of 15-13.
Gordon got ahead 2-0 on set scores 25-19 and 28-26 early. However, WPI stayed in the game and knotted the score at 2-2 following 25-18 and 25-23 marks, but came up short as they saw their lowest attack percentage of the game in the last set (.091).
For Gordon, Snyder notched a game-high 22 kills and also picked up 12 digs for a double-double. Jamie Tafoya (Fort Collins, Colo.) and Mackenzie Hinds (Higganum, Conn.) recorded 18 and 14 kills, respectively. Tafoya also grabbed a game-high five service aces and 13 digs to record the double-double. Gergins chipped in with a double-double of 35 assists and 14 digs in the win.
For WPI, Bakhtyari posted 38 assists and 10 digs. Junior Casey Hunt (Granby, Conn.) delivered a double-double of 15 kills and 19 digs in her first match of the day. Freshmen Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, N.H.) and Sarah Kwatinetz (Seattle, Wash.) each totaled 13 swipes. Hunt was followed by Rathje and Nassar with 15 digs each.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Clark 3, Worcester State 0
Clark registered its second shutout of the afternoon in the championship game as they posted set scores of 25-11, 25-17, 25-12 over Worcester State and marked a .256 team attack percentage to earn the Worcester City Tournament title.
This is Clarks' 12th tournament title, as the tournament dates back to 1985.
Tournament MVP, Ramos, grabbed a game-high 17 kills with a .395 attack percentage and also registered 19 digs to finish with a double-double. Ana Mercado (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) chipped in nine kills and posted a .400 attack percentage. Quiban tallied a game-high 24 digs, while Webb notched 23 assists in the victory.
Worcester State was led by Carens who tallied a team-high seven kills and 18 digs. Allie Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) registered 12 helpers on the occasion.
As a team, Worcester State logged a .016 attack percentage in the championship game.
Tournament MVP:
Marina Ramos
All-Tournament Team:
Rayme Quiban (Clark)
Rachel Webb (Clark)
Amari King (Worcester State)
Megan Leavens (Worcester State)
Amanda Snyder (Gordon)
Azita Backhtyari (WPI)
UP NEXT FOR WORCESTER STATE
Worcester State returns to the Lancer Gymnasium on Tuesday, Sep. 5 when they host RIC in a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup.
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