Box Score BOSTON – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team erased an early eight-point deficit in the third set, scoring six of the final seven points to post a sweep of the University of Massachusetts Boston Friday evening in the Little East Conference opener for both programs at the Clark Athletic Center.
 
In a match determined by a total of nine points, Eastern (6-2) won its fourth straight of the year by scores of 25-22, 26-24, 25-21 in defeating UMass Boston (2-7) in a re-match of last year's LEC tournament title game, won by the Beacons here in five sets.  Eastern has won four of the last five against Boston, three times in sweeps.
 
Eastern won the first two sets by a total of five points, needing a victory in the third set to post a third sweep of UMass Boston in the last five matches. (In last year's LEC championship match, the Warriors needed one win to secure a second LEC title in three years but dropped the final two sets by a total of five points at the Clark Center).
 
In the first set, there were 15 ties and neither team led by as many as three until the final score. Trailing 15-13, Eastern later snapped a 21-21 tie on a pair of kills by sophomore Bella Johnson (Marlborough) off sets from senior Meg Verizzi (Lebanon), junior Stacie Kinlen (Thornwood, NY) made it 24-22 with a kill and senior All-America Anna Barry (Andover) confirmed the first-game win with a block of freshman Colbie Atlas' attacked ball.
 
Eastern scored the first four points of the second set and led 20-15 in a match where it never trailed. After the hosts surged into the only tie, the Beacons self-destructed with a set-ending service error and attack error that moved the Warriors to within a victory of their third sweep this year.
 
Having been swept in five of its first six losses (including the first four of the season), UMass Boston reeled off five straight points to move out to a 12-4 lead in the third set and led by eight (14-6) before the Warriors bounced back.
 
Eastern finally tied the third set, then went ahead for good, 21-20, on a kill and service ace from junior Paige Savitsky (Centereach, NY) and a pair of kills on sets from Verizzi pushed the lead to 23-20. Senior Nayeli Cruz Martinez's (Toa Baja, P.R.) service ace ended the match.
 
UMass Boston has won the last two LEC tournament titles and ten of the last 12 but entered the season with 13 freshmen and sophomores on its roster playing under a first-year head coach hired just prior to the start of the season.
 
Johnson, a second-year transfer from UMass Boston, matched Barry with a match-high 11 kills. The duo combined to attack at .474 in leading the Warriors to a season-high .295 attack percentage. Cruz Martinez (four service aces) and Savitsky each chipped in seven kills with a .400 attack percentage and Kinlen added six. Senior libero Paula Perez (Caguas, P.R.) had a team-high 18 digs and Verizzi set for 42 assists.
 
UMass attacked above its season percentage but still managing only .189.Junior Livia Trindade topped the Beacons with eight kills and a .333 attack percentage and junior Ally Dean led both teams with 24 digs.
 
Eastern was the pre-season favorite to win this year's LEC regular-season title, with UMB rated third.
 
Eastern hosts Mitchell College Tuesday in a non-conference match at 7 p.m.