PRESQUE ISLE, ME
If there was any doubt that the University of Maine at Presque Isle Volleyball squad is a team to look out for in the North Atlantic Conference this year, they put all of those doubts to bed on Tuesday night.
Match 1: 3-1 Owls
On the first day of classes, the Owls played hosts to the Bengals of UMaine Fort Kent, a team that they hadn't defeated since 2009. In match number one, the Owls showed they had control from the start, though they held on to a slim lead wire-to-wire, winning 25-22 in the first set, setting the tone for the rest of the night. They dominated in set number two, jumping out to a 20-8 lead at one point and cruising to a 25-14 victory. UMFK avoided a sweep by salvaging the third set thanks to an early 8-0 Bengal run which put them up 11-3.
In set four, the Owls and Bengals battled early on, but UMPI got back to their early match form with an 8-0 run of their own to go up 12-4. Another six point run all but sealed it at 23-7, as the Owls cruised to their four-set victory, ending a 16 year-long drought against the Bengals.
Top Performers:
UMPI's robust first-year class was on full display at Wieden Gymnasium as Nyla Guiboche led the team in kills with eight. Sophomores Mia Gutierrez and Rylie Kolkow each had seven, making it a true team effort offensively.
Another first-year, Bailey Rosentreter had four aces for the Owls while Gutierrez and Kolkow each had three. First-year Brooke Gardner stepped up to be the leading passer for UMPI with 25 of the team's 28 assists, making their offense very efficient going through her. Maubi Mateo—another first-year player led the squad in Digs as UMPI's new Libero, with 14, while Mia Gutierrez and Nyla Guiboche each had 10 to support her.
Match 2: 3-1 Owls
The second match began quite differently than the first one, as UMFK stole the show early on, taking a 9-4 lead, and preserving that gap at 16-10. There would be no late push by UMPI, as the Bengals closed out the set, winning by seven points, and taking a 1-0 lead into Match 2. Set two was hands down the most entertaining and back and forth set of the whole night as both teams fought for the upper hand. Trading blows the whole time, nobody led by more than three points, as UMPI did twice. Facing a set point three separate times, the Owls rallied to stay alive and eventually closed things out on a 3-0 run to win 26-28 and tie the match up.
From there, the Owls seized all the momentum and had control for the last two sets, winning both by a score of 25-16, to complete the doubleheader sweep over the Bengals.
Top Performers:
Mia Gutierrez left her mark again, leading the team with 11 kills as well as 24 digs. Brooke Gardner was the Swiss-army-knife of this match, leading in Aces, while picking up a pair of blocks, and putting up 25 assists for the second straight match. Jade Anspach also had a pair of blocks for UMPI and had three aces as well in her first appearance of her Sophomore season. Maubi Mateo was huge again defensively with 23 digs, just one behind Gutierrez for the team lead.
Next Up:
The Owls start their year out 2-0 but will now have a big break before their next doubleheader. They will go on the road to play Salve Regina in Newport Rhode Island on September 20th, and look to keep their momentum and chemistry going before their conference schedule begins in early October.
