Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Alyssa Jasper (Rockland, MA) finished with 13 kills and a nifty .333 hitting percentage as she helped lead Worcester State to a 3-0 triumph over Bay Path this evening in non-conference women's volleyball action at the Lancer Gym.
The Lancers improve their season mark to 6-5 while the Wildcats slip to 5-3 with the setback. The victory marked the 100th career win for 8th year head coach Bernie Chase who is 100-129 overall (.418).
WSU won in three tightly contested matches by scores of 25-21, 25-21 and 25-17.
The Blue and Gold were also paced by second-year Amanda Lewis (Poughkeepsie, NY) who doled out 25 assists as senior Becky Lebel (Millbury, MA) and junior classmates Emily Cox (N. Andover, MA) and Megan Brown (Dartmouth, MA) all chipped in with five kills each. The triumvirate combined for 14 digs as junior Vicki O'Brien added a team-high nine.
Lebel finished with two solo blocks and freshman Jennifer Cabral (Swansea, MA) had eight digs.
The Wildcats were paced by freshman Arriadne Sykes (Hartford, CT) who had eight kills while senior Ashley Provost (Ludlow, MA) and first-year Amber Cohens (Hampden, CT) both amassed seven kills apiece.
Provost handed out 26 assists as sophomore Katie Bayreuther (E. Lyme, CT) and first-year Katelyn Hannan (Troy, NY) both finished with 19 and 11 digs, respectively.
As the Lancers clung to the 1-0 series advantage, Bay Path led by as many as 10-4 and 17-14 by the second rotation in the second set.
With the score 19-18 in favor of the Wildcats, the Lancers rallied for three quick points on a block by sophomore Ali Remigio (Tewksbury, MA), an attacking error and a kill by Brown for the 20-19 edge.
After Bay Path knotted the score 20-20 on a kill by Sykes, but the Lancers closed out the match with a 5-1 run for the 25-21 final. Lebel powered the attack with a block, a kill and Cabral added a vicious spike above the net for the 24th point.
In the third, Worcester State raced out to a 10-3 lead, but the Wildcats used some strong serving by freshman Amanda McEntee (Walton, NY) and Haylette to get within striking distance to trail 13-11.
WSU led 18-16 and 20-16 before pulling away with a 5-1 spurt to close out the match.
The Lancers will play Newbury in non-league action on Thursday at 7 PM. Bay Path will play again in a quad match hosted by Green Mountain. They will play Gordon at 11 AM, Brooklyn (NY) at 3 and the hosting Eagles at 5 PM.