FRANKLIN, Mass. – September 21, 2022 – The Dean College women's volleyball team fell to Massachusetts Maritime in a hard-fought contest, 3-1, by scores of 25-20, 19-25, 27-25 and 25-22.   

Dean (2-10) resumes conference action on Saturday with a tri-match hosted by Regis with Albertus Magnus. The Buccaneers (2-6) host MCLA on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Senior Sari Albury (Nassau, Bahamas) turned in another impressive performance for the Bulldogs with a match best 15 kills on .412 hitting and added a couple of blocks. Junior Hope Laiter (Riverside, R.I.) also played well with a career-high 11 kills on .308 hitting. First-year Caitlin Cooper (Amherst, N.H.) added eight kills on .333 hitting and five aces. Junior setter Bella Driscoll (Plymouth, Mass.) finished with 30 assists. Senior Mandi Payne (Millis, Mass.) collected a match-high 17 digs.

The Bucs received eight kills from freshman Shayla Narodowg (Wellington, Colo.). Freshman Keira Whalen (Philadelphia, Pa.) filled the stat sheet with seven kills on .545 hitting, 22 assists and 15 digs. Sophomore Marlo Stark (Groton, Conn.) chipped in seven kills and 12 digs.

The first set was tied at 7-7 before the Bucs used an 8-2 run, capped by a Whalen ace, to take a 15-9 lead. Trailing 23-15, Dean battled back with a 5-0 run, but the visitors notched the next two points to win 25-20.

An early 4-2 run by the Bulldogs to begin set two was answered with six-straight points by the Bucs, which included five aces by Audrey Manning (Hanover, Mass.). With the score 11-8 in favor of the Bucs, Dean score seven consecutive points, including a couple of kills by Cooper, to take a 15-11 lead. Mass. Maritime would pull within one later, but the Bulldogs finished the frame on a 9-4 run to even the match. Albury and Cooper each had five kills for Dean as the team hit .393.

In the third set, Dean held a 23-22 advantage before a couple of attack errors put the Bucs at set point. The Bulldogs responded with an Albury kill and an Emily Larouche (Agawam, Mass.) ace to go on top 25-24. The Bucs would score the next three points to win the set 27-25.

The fourth set was back and forth with 11 ties and six lead changes. The latest tie came at 21-21, but the Bucs finished the set and the match by scoring four of the next five points.