Fantastic season ends early for former Skipper
The dream of a national championship on the volleyball court for North Kingstown alum Mason Andrade was dashed on Saturday as he and the rest of the Wentworth men’s squad fell to Vassar in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III tournament.
In what was a closely-fought match in which three of the five sets were decided by the minimum margin of two points, the eighthranked Brewers dealt the host Leopards only their second loss of the season, snapping a seven-match winning streak in the process.
Andrade contributed to the Wentworth cause with eight digs and a pair of assists, stepping up his level of involvement compared to Friday’s first-round defeat of Lancaster Bible where he only chipped in with a solitary dig in a straightsets triumph over the Chargers.
Despite the setback that brought an earlier-than-hoped-for end to the campaign, the Leopards had plenty of positives in 2024, none bigger than a 24-match unbeaten run that included the program’s first stint atop the national coaches’ poll.
On the personal front, Andrade was selected as the Great Northeast Athletic Conference’s libero of the year on the heels of a season where the sophomore set Wentworth’s pace in digs with 160, 14 of which came in a Jan. 20 upset of top-ranked Stevens.
Additionally earning a firstteam all-conference nod, the former Skipper also had the opportunity to show off other sides to his game in 2024, racking up 35 kills, nine service aces and 44.5 points.
Ex-Skipper finding role as freshman
With her first season at the collegiate level winding down, North Kingstown product Emily Kallman is finding her way onto the field for the Vassar women’s lacrosse team, seeing regular action off the bench as a reserve for the Brewers.
Taking part in a dozen contests to date, the ex-Skipper is trying to find her role by doing a little bit of everything, scoring two goals, scooping up seven ground balls and causing three turnovers in total.
Kallman dished off an assist in only her second game, a Feb. 27 meeting with Farmingdale State that ended 14-6 in Vassar’s favor, but the wait for her first tally in Brewer colors was significantly longer, crossing past the official start of spring.
In what was her most productive appearance this far, the defensive midfielder found the back of the net in the final quarter of an April 10 confrontation with Bard, receiving a feed from Catherine Peacock and placing the ball past Raptors goalie Lexie Blackburn.
It was the penultimate goal for Vassar in a 16-4 defeat of Bard, arresting a seven-game losing skid thanks to hat-tricks from Maeve Faigel and Reilly Mulcahy while Kallman accrued her second helper of the year and a season-high three ground balls.
Marker number two for Kallman came this past Saturday, hitting the target with 3:05 remaining in the third period against Rensselaer, but it ended up as mere consolation as the Brewers were on the receiving end of a 14-6 setback to the Engineers.
The defeat plunged Vassar’s overall mark on the campaign to 3-11 with one contest remaining: a Saturday visit to a William Smith squad that boasts the Liberty League’s most potent attack, leading the conference with 230 goals. Ticker
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