Posted: Oct 31, 2012
Golden Bears Advance to CCC Volleyball Semifinals
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Western New England University shrugged off a shaky opening set to take the next three en route to a 21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17 quarterfinal victory over University of New England in the 2012 Commonwealth Coast Conference Women's Volleyball Championship at the Alumni Healthful Living Center field house on Wednesday. With their fifth win in the last six starts, the No. 4 seed Golden Bears (22-6) advance to the CCC Semifinals at No. 1 Roger Williams tomorrow night (7 p.m.). The fifth-seeded Nor'easters are eliminated and end their season at 16-10 overall.
Inna Sergeychik led Western New England with 14 kills and a .393 attack percentage to go along with eight digs and four blocks. Emily McGran came off the bench to contribute eight kills, Devyn Frank posted seven and setter Heather Mears had a balanced match of six kills (.600), 33 assists and 10 digs.
For UNE, Paige Curran was nearly unstoppable with match highs of 16 kills and .481 hitting percentage. Angie Brunette added 10 kills and five service aces, and Leah Janelle had nine putdowns.
In the first set, the hosts raced to a 9-1 lead aided by five UNE attack errors. After a Nor'easters timeout, Brunette had two aces and Janelle executed three kills to ignite a 6-0 run to make it 9-7.
A sneak attack by Mears that dropped in for a kill eventually made it 15-10 for the Golden Bears, but then the Nor'easters took 13 of the next 16 points to take a 23-18 lead on their way to take the first set by four points.
Neither team led by more than two points until midway through the second set when Sergeychik nailed a kill to break a 13-all tie and spark a 7-0 run for a 20-13 WNE lead that it would not relinquish.
Western New England fought back from a 6-1 hole in the fourth set to eventually take the frame by four points.
In the final set, it was all Golden Bears as they outhit UNE .400 to .172. Western New England led almost throughout as there was only one tie and one lead change--by the Golden Bears, who led for good when an UNE attack error made it 7-6 at the time.
Defensively, Western New England had 11 team blocks as Frank led the way with seven total blocks. Grace Kucharski joined teammate Mears in double-digit digs with a match-best 19.
Maria Kuehl, who served up 33 assists, was the only UNE player with double-digit digs at 11.
Inna Sergeychik led Western New England with 14 kills and a .393 attack percentage to go along with eight digs and four blocks. Emily McGran came off the bench to contribute eight kills, Devyn Frank posted seven and setter Heather Mears had a balanced match of six kills (.600), 33 assists and 10 digs.
For UNE, Paige Curran was nearly unstoppable with match highs of 16 kills and .481 hitting percentage. Angie Brunette added 10 kills and five service aces, and Leah Janelle had nine putdowns.
In the first set, the hosts raced to a 9-1 lead aided by five UNE attack errors. After a Nor'easters timeout, Brunette had two aces and Janelle executed three kills to ignite a 6-0 run to make it 9-7.
A sneak attack by Mears that dropped in for a kill eventually made it 15-10 for the Golden Bears, but then the Nor'easters took 13 of the next 16 points to take a 23-18 lead on their way to take the first set by four points.
Neither team led by more than two points until midway through the second set when Sergeychik nailed a kill to break a 13-all tie and spark a 7-0 run for a 20-13 WNE lead that it would not relinquish.
Western New England fought back from a 6-1 hole in the fourth set to eventually take the frame by four points.
In the final set, it was all Golden Bears as they outhit UNE .400 to .172. Western New England led almost throughout as there was only one tie and one lead change--by the Golden Bears, who led for good when an UNE attack error made it 7-6 at the time.
Defensively, Western New England had 11 team blocks as Frank led the way with seven total blocks. Grace Kucharski joined teammate Mears in double-digit digs with a match-best 19.
Maria Kuehl, who served up 33 assists, was the only UNE player with double-digit digs at 11.
