(Photo Courtesy: Deanbulldogs.com)
FRANKLIN- The Dean Bulldogs Women's Volleyball team fell to Simmons University 3-0, falling to 6-17 while the Sharks improve to 13-7.
In a well-contested first set, both teams were traded points play after play at the start. Tied at ten, the Bulldogs began facing trouble for the first time. With the struggles continuing, Dean Head Coach Mark Ledwich called a time-out after losing four straight volleys, trailing 13-10.
Dean's deficit would grow quickly after the timeout and they attempted a late comeback, but the Sharks took set one 24-17.
Dean started set two off strong taking an early advantage behind the efforts of Bella Driscoll, who assisted three consecutive scorers.
Despite their great start offensively, the Bulldogs could not maintain their momentum. With many kills starting to be made on Simmons’s end, the Sharks gradually began to climb back in.
Simmons would walk away in set two with another close margin, 21-16.
The Sharks came out powering to start set three jumping out quick to a comfortable lead. With the score continuing to rise, Dean urged the need for a timeout, calling one down 12-8.
After initial struggles in set three, the Bulldogs started to gain some momentum and cut the Sharks lead to as little as three through their dominating stretch of rallies. With the Bulldogs creeping back in, the Sharks regained their rhythm and started to create some separation on the scoreboard.
Dean responded by once again cutting the lead back down to three but despite their strong resilience, Dean would drop another close set 23-20.
Following the game, Head Coach Mark Ledwich spoke about the close losses and noted what his team could build upon.
“Yeah, we're continuing to manage those errors, making sure that we're making smart plays when things get tough. And as we keep grinding it out of practice, we'll make sure that those arrows don't happen moving forward.”
Dean Women’s Volleyball will head to Chicopee, MA for a tri-match Saturday, October 21st facing Elms College at 11:00 a.m. and Regis College at 1:00 p.m.