Box Score BABSON PARK, Mass. – The Union College volleyball team fell to UMass Dartmouth 3-1 Friday evening in the first match of the New England Fall Classic inside Staake Gymnasium, marking its first loss of the 2026 season.
 
The Garnet Chargers (7-1) won the first set of the day 25-20 behind three kills each from junior Kayla Martinez Cartagena and senior Maddie McCarron, but the Corsairs (6-4) won the next three sets 25-23, 25-14, and 25-19.

McCarron finished the match with five kills and a .556 hitting percentage, adding a pair of block assists to her fourth errorless performance of the year and third flawless match in a row. First-year Vanessa Morgan led Union's defense with 11 digs, and junior Allie Kronenberg also had a pair of block assists while dishing out 29 assists. 

The Garnet Chargers never trailed in the first set after starting on a 4-0 rally. Union wasted no time taking advantage of set point after a Kronenberg kill, and Martinez Cartagena finished the job with her third kill of the set. 

Martinez Cartagena had eight more kills the rest of the way to lead her team, but UMass Dartmouth was able to bounce back with three straight set victories and hand Union its first loss of the season.

The Garnet Chargers nearly erased an eight-point deficit in the second and got it to 22-23 before the Corsairs won two points in a row to tie things up a set a piece. Allison Pate landed five kills in a dominant third set for UMass Dartmouth for an 11-point edge in the frame. After an early 3-3 tie in the fourth, Pate earned seven more kills on her way to 21 overall, helping her squad finish off the comeback victory. Senior Shelby McKim, junior Georgia Pinciaro, and Martinez Cartagena all had a pair of kills in that fourth set and four of their teammates recorded a kill each, but the Garnet Chargers were unable to force a fifth set despite a well-balanced attack. 

Union will look to avenge its first loss of the year when it takes on #22 Babson on the Beavers' home court on Saturday, Sept. 19 at 12:30 p.m.