BC Completes Sweep of New England Challenge

Saturday, September 19

Boston, Mass.

7:00 PM

Boston College

8-4

Harvard

4-6

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
Boston College	25	23	22	25	15	3
Harvard	18	25	25	23	12	2

BC Completes Sweep of New England Challenge

September 19, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Eagles defeat UConn and Harvard to finish tournament 3-0

GAME 1 INFORMATION (10:30 a.m.)

Score: Boston College 3, UConn 0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15 )
Records: Boston College (7-4, 0-0 ACC), UConn (5-5, 0-0 AAC)
Location: Malkin Athletic Center, Cambridge, Mass.
Attendance: N/A

GAME 2 INFORMATION (7:30 p.m.)

Score: Boston College 3, Harvard 2 (25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-12)
Records: Boston College (8-4, 0-0 ACC), Harvard (4-6, 0-0 Ivy)
Location: Malkin Athletic Center, Cambridge, Mass.
Attendance: 214

HIGHLIGHTS

Kam McLain matched a career high with 15 kills in the New England Challenge finale to defeat host Harvard in five sets Saturday evening in Cambridge, Mass. She was recognized as the tournament MVP for her performance, which capped a three game tournament in which the middle hitter tallied 29 kills and 13 total blocks. McLain's dominant performance in the night cap followed the morning matchup with Connecticut, in which she helped the Eagles defeat Connecticut three sets to none.

UConn Game

Set One: In their second game of the New England Challenge, Boston College continued their momentum gained from Thursday's win as they took the first set over UConn 25-18. The Eagles, determined to get out to a strong start early, jumped out to an early 12-3 lead behind two service aces from Julia Topor and kills from Katty Workman,Mallori Moffat and Kam McLain. As the set continued, the Huskies would chip away at the lead, cutting the deficit to four at 22-18, but two UConn attack errors and a Moffat service ace sealed the first frame for Boston College.
Set Two: The second set between the Huskies and Eagles was a difficult battle that featured five tied scores in the first half of the frame. After tying it at 10, the Eagles began to pull away following a kill and service ace from Moffat on consecutive plays. UConn continued to fight and came within two points of the Maroon and Gold at the 23-21 mark, but a Huskies error and a Workman kill once again closed out the set 25-22, allowing the Eagles to jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the match.
Set Three: The Eagles were able to pull off the sweep of UConn as they took the third and final set by a score of 25-15. Leading 12-10, the Eagles fired off three straight points and six of the next eight points to extend their lead to 18-12. Boston College finished on a 5-0 run, sparked by kills from Topor and Workman, to take the set and the match.

Harvard Game

Set One: Boston College opened up their final matchup up non-conference play in the New England Challenge Saturday evening with a 25-18 victory in the first set. Following the 6-6 mark, the Eagles never trailed and used runs of 4-0 and 5-0 to go up 1-0 over the Crimson. Katty Workman, Kam McLain, and Julia Topor each tallied multiple kills in the first set.
Set Two: Boston College lost their first set of the entire New England Challenge tournament when they were overcome by Harvard 25-23. Trailing 24-19, the Eagles fired off four straight kills (three from McLain, one from Sol Calvete), but Harvard was able to sneak in the final point following a kill from Harvard's Corinne Bain to even the match score at one.
Set Three: The third set was another battle that saw the Eagles come up just short, falling 25-22 to Harvard. Julia Topor led the Maroon and Gold with 4 kills in the set, but with BC trailing 20-19, the Crimson recorded timely kills while forcing an Eagle attack error.
Set Four: Trailing 2-1 in the game, the Eagles continued to fight and despite another gritty back-and-forth battle, defeated Harvard 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set. This time, it was Katty Workman who led the set with four kills and six digs. With the Eagles trailing by one, Julia Topor dominated from her serve and led a charge of five straight points for the Eagles to regain the lead. During that 5-0 run which gave BC a 22-18 lead, the Eagles defense forced four straight Harvard attack errors that were key to evening the match score at two. After a Workman kill and another forced error, Kam McLain dished out one of her 15 kills on the evening to force a fifth frame.
Set Five: The Eagles trailed only once in the decisive set, at 2-3 nonetheless, before completing the comeback over Harvard. The set featured six different times the score was tied, but the final straw, tied at 10-all, gave way for a final push by Boston College where Workman and Topor combined for the remaining five kills, part of a 5-2 run that ended the match.

COACH QUOTES

Following Eagles victory over Harvard
"We had a great start to the match tonight and played very well in the first set. Unfortunately, we hit a bit of a lull in the second set and really just couldn't pull our way out of it. We made a few adjustments in the fourth set however and then some key players down the stretch got us going and woke us up a bit. The girls really showed fight in the fifth set-an important quality which we will need for the start of ACC play next weekend." - Head coach Chris Campbell

New England Challenge All-Tournament Team:
Boston College: Kam McLain (MVP), Madisen Lydon, Katty Workman
Harvard: Christina Cornelius, Corinne Bain
Connecticut: Jade Strawberry
Northeastern: Brigitte Burcescu

UP NEXT
Boston College opens their conference schedule next weekend when they take on Syracuse and Georgia Tech on the road as part of their four game road trip to start the conference season.