WATERVILLE, ME
UMPI Volleyball came into their last weekend of the regular season in need of conference wins to control their own playoff destiny. They took on Thomas College for a doubleheader, with match number one, counting towards playoff seeding. The unfortunate theme for UMPI this season has been their luck in matches that are neck-and-neck. This was the same result as the Owls dropped another tight, five-set match to the Terriers in match one before getting swept, in three close sets in match two.
Match 1: 3-2 Terriers
The Owls started out the day with a dream start, winning the first seven points of the set. They'd ride that wave, keeping the lead wire-to-wire despite Thomas trying to close the gap at the end. All they needed to do was play 50/5- ball after that 7-0 lead, as they took set one by a score of 25-18.
Set two was exactly the opposite, with the Terriers taking an early advantage and never giving it up. They led 18-9 midway through a dominant stretch. The Owls didn't give up, scoring set points in a row to make it 34-23, but Thomas did just enough to survive, and won 25-23.
With the match even at 1-1, the pivotal third set started out in favor of UMPI 6-3, but Thomas quickly tied it up. The teams went back and forth throughout in a set that featured five ties. Ultimately UMPI made a late push to go up 23-22, but Thomas won four of the last five points to take it 26-24.
UMPI got back to their first set form, trailing the match 2-1, as they fended off an early 804 Terrier lead. Retaking the lead at 13-12, the Owls never looked back, dominating the back half of the set to win 25-17.
In the deciding set, the Owls scored the first two points, but Thomas rallied off three in a row to take a one point lead. The Terriers never surrendered the lead after that, always having the upper hand, as a four-point run at the end sealed the deal with the Terriers winning 15-9, and the very competitive match, three sets to two.
Top Performers:
Mia Gutierrez led the whole match including both teams with 11 kills. Jade Anspach had a solid match sporting seven kills, while Bailey Rosentreter had five. Brooke Gardner had four aces with Anspach supporting with three. Anspach also had the teams only three blocks all by herself. Gardner led in assists per usual with 24, while Maubi Mateo led the defensive charge with 25 digs as Mia Gutierrez had 18.
Match 2: 3-0 Terriers
In the non-conference match, with no playoff implications now on the line, the Owls still competed hard with the Terriers though a three set sweep may not indicate that at first glance, all three sets were very competitive with the Owls just a few points away from turning the match around. Though they found themselves in a 23-15 hole in the first set, a six point surge got UMPI within striking distance. The Terriers made sure that the comeback bid was all for not, as they scored the final two points to win 25-21.
Set two saw the Terriers open the gate on An eight point streak to go up 8-0. The Owls attempted to close the gap, even trailing 14-4 a little later on. But UMPI was not done. The Owls showed some serious grit, scoring 12 of the next 15 points to get back within two points at 17-15. They later brought it to 23-22, but once again the Terriers slammed the door, following through on the agonizing theme of UMPI being right there, but unable to seal the deal, as the early lead was enough for the Terriers to close it out.
In the final set, UMPI got hot early, scoring the first five points, before Thomas played catch-up for a while. The Terriers took their first lead at 15-14, and never looked back, winning the set 25-22.
Top Performers:
Jade Anspach continued her big day, leading the Owls with eight kills. Bailey Rosentreter had six kills as well. Maubi Mateo had a season-high five aces to lead UMPI in that category. Anspach had a couple more blocks with Rosentreter earning one. Brooke Gardner led in assists again with 15, while Mia Gutierrez paced the defense this time with 18 digs. Mateo had 16 while Gardner had 12.
Next Up:
UMPI falls to 2-5 in conference, and currently are the first team out of the playoff standings. The good news for the Owls is, that they trail VTSU-Johnson by just one game. UMPI owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Badgers thanks to their conference victory back on October 10th. If the Owls win over a winless Lesley team on Saturday, and the Badgers lose to Maine Maritime who has not lost a regular season conference game since 2015, the Owls will become tied with the Badgers at 3-5 and earn the last spot in NAC playoffs.
With all of that said, UMPI will need to take care of business when they take on Lesley University on Saturday with the conference match starting at noon.
