The first week of November was massive, to say the least, for the UMass Boston women’s volleyball team as the Little East Conference tournament was set to begin. The last time the women’s volleyball team was in the LEC tournament in 2019, they took home the conference title, therefore making UMass Boston defending champions as they were not allowed play in 2020. The Beacons entered the LEC tournament as the second seed, meaning they had a clear path to the semifinals where they would play the third-seeded Keene State College.
In mid-October, the Beacons met the Keene State Owls and the match ended in UMass Boston’s favor. Keene State took the first set by a score of 25–22. From there on out, the Beacons took control winning sets two through four, as the Beacons took the victory three sets to one.
As one would expect, Keene State put up a much better fight in the semifinals of the LEC tournament. UMass Boston would have to make a comeback, down two sets to one going into the fourth set, but UMass Boston stayed poised and won the fourth set by a score of 25–19. The fifth, and final, set would only go to 15 points to break the tie. The fifth set could not have been any tighter as UMass Boston narrowly won by a score of 15–13. 16 kills for Aleks Qose and 53 assists for Carsen Komminsk led the way for UMass Boston, as the Beacons punched their ticket to the LEC finals.
UMass Boston would catch a break going into the finals as Eastern Connecticut State took down the first-seeded Plymouth State, giving UMass Boston the opportunity to host the LEC finals. In September, Eastern Connecticut State took down UMass Boston with relative ease by a score of three sets to zero. The first set was extremely close as UMass Boston lost by a score of 27–25, but the next two sets would not be nearly as close.
A lot of time has passed since UMass Boston last played Eastern Connecticut, and the difference between the two matches was night and day. Once again, the Beacons had their backs against the wall, down two sets to one. The fourth set was an absolute nail-biter as neither team would give an inch. The set would end 30–28 in favor of UMass Boston to force a fifth, and final, set for all the marbles. The Beacons would take care of business in the tie breaker, as they would go on to win the set 15–12, giving them their tenth LEC title.
With this win, UMass Boston would go on to face Haverford College to begin the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament on Nov. 12. Haverford came in 2nd place in the Centennial Conference with an overall record of 23–5 going into the match.
Haverford came out hot, winning the first set by a score of 25–8. The second set wouldn’t get much better for UMass Boston as they would lose by a score of 25–17. The third set was tightly contested, but Haverford would come out victorious by a final score of 26–24.
This loss to Haverford College ultimately means that the Beacons’ season has come to an end. Although the season ended on a sour note, UMass Boston was still able to defend their 2019 conference title and win their tenth conference championship, which is no small feat. There is a lot to be proud of for UMass Boston, and I know they will be back, ready to defend their LEC title once again next year.