WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman outside hitter Kelsey Buckner (San Marino, Calif./San Marino HS) had a dozen kills and classmate Alex Tator (Los Angeles, Calif./Marlborough School) posted a double-double as Bentley University registered a 3-0 win over St. Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference women's volleyball Saturday afternoon in the Dana Center.

Later in the day, Bentley dropped a 3-1 non-conference decision to New York Institute of Technology, despite 18 kills by Buckner, the second highest total of her collegiate career.

Against St. Michael's, the Falcons improved to 3-2 in conference play with the 25-23, 25-23, 25-18 victory. Bentley trailed the opening set 22-16 before using a 9-1 spurt, finished by a kill from sophomore Ashley Ahearn (Marshfield/Marshfield HS), to grab the lead in the match.

Bentley also trailed late in the second set (22-20) before again coming from behind for a 25-23 victory. With the set even at 23, freshman Emily Garcia (Gardnerville, Nev./Douglas HS) put the Falcons in front with a kill. On the next play, Ahearn and junior Grace Connor (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos HS) combined for a set-ending block.

In the third, the Falcons ran off six straight points to open a 17-9 lead and cruised to the victory.

Tator filled the stat sheet with 31 assists, 11 digs, four kills, two blocks and an ace, and both Garcia and Ahearn provided seven kills.  Sophomore Chelsey Covitz (Marshfield/Marshfield HS) led St. Michael's (12-5, 1-2 NE-10) with 14 kills, five blocks and a .571 hitting percentage.

Against New York Tech (9-5), Bentley posted their third 25-23 win of the afternoon to take a 1-0 advantage in the match. The Bears evened things by taking the second set, 25-21, and led from the opening point in the third, prevailing 25-17.

Bentley's 13-12 lead in the fourth set was erased by a 7-1 NYIT spurt, with the Bears going on to finish the match, 25-22.

Sophomore Shelby Cable (DeSoto, Mo.) was impressive for New York Tech, hitting .405 with 21 kills, 11 digs and two aces, and the Bears also received 17 kills from junior Tugce Sirdas (Istanbul, Turkey). Sophomore Kelly Brown (Queens Village, N.Y.) was credited with six blocks, and senior setter Damia Albayrak (Istanbul, Turkey) had 50 assists and 13 digs.

Buckner, in addition to the 18 kills, had 11 digs for the Falcons with the double-double her fourth of the year. Tator just missed her second double-double of the day, finishing with 34 assists and nine digs, and Conner provided seven kills while hitting .312.

Bentley is back in action Tuesday, playing a 7 pm match at Franklin Pierce.