Posted: Nov 07, 2012
Team Effort Leads 'Bears Sweep into ECAC New England Volleyball Semifinals
ECAC Women's Volleyball Tournament Page
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Host Western New England University hit .379 as a team and tied a season-high with 16 service aces as the Golden Bears swept Husson 25-12, 25-12, 27-25 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Women's Volleyball Championship at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. The No. 7-seeded Eagles end their season at 16-11, while second-seed Western New England (23-7 overall) advances to the final four this weekend at a site to be determined.
The match was delayed 1 hour and 53 minutes from its 7 p.m. scheduled start due to Husson's travel problems due to wintry conditions and heavy traffic.
Junior Tyler Singh led the Golden Bears with eight kills and a .583 attack percentage, while freshman Kelsey Armstrong (.312) and junior Ashley McMullen (.750) sparked a strong bench presence with eight and six kills, respectively. Senior Heather Mears and freshman Rachel Meachem combined for 29 assists.
The Eagles were led by Kelsey Burill who posted six kills, a .312 hitting percentage and seven digs, while Hannah Olstad also had six put-downs and a match-tying-best nine digs.
Western New England hit .344 in the opening frame and .500 in the second to win both sets 25-12.
Husson led for most of the third set and earned its biggest lead of the match at 21-13 on an ace by Aleta Johnson. The Eagles got to set point on a WNE hitting error.
With the score 24-16, Armstrong's kill gave Western New England a side-out. After three straight points to pull the Golden Bears within 24-20, Husson called a timeout. Ashley Gonzalez, a freshman, served up WNE's final ace of the evening to tie the set 24-all, capping an 8-point run with seven coming on her serve.
Husson took advantage of a WNE service error for another set point at 25-24, but the Golden Bears scored the last three points to win the match on a Maureen Pollet-Meachem combination that saw them trade plays on a kill-assist on a couple occasions.
This marks Western New England's first ECAC postseason victory since 2009 and are now 2-3 in four such appearances.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--Host Western New England University hit .379 as a team and tied a season-high with 16 service aces as the Golden Bears swept Husson 25-12, 25-12, 27-25 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Women's Volleyball Championship at the Alumni Healthful Living Center. The No. 7-seeded Eagles end their season at 16-11, while second-seed Western New England (23-7 overall) advances to the final four this weekend at a site to be determined.
The match was delayed 1 hour and 53 minutes from its 7 p.m. scheduled start due to Husson's travel problems due to wintry conditions and heavy traffic.
Junior Tyler Singh led the Golden Bears with eight kills and a .583 attack percentage, while freshman Kelsey Armstrong (.312) and junior Ashley McMullen (.750) sparked a strong bench presence with eight and six kills, respectively. Senior Heather Mears and freshman Rachel Meachem combined for 29 assists.
The Eagles were led by Kelsey Burill who posted six kills, a .312 hitting percentage and seven digs, while Hannah Olstad also had six put-downs and a match-tying-best nine digs.
Western New England hit .344 in the opening frame and .500 in the second to win both sets 25-12.
Husson led for most of the third set and earned its biggest lead of the match at 21-13 on an ace by Aleta Johnson. The Eagles got to set point on a WNE hitting error.
With the score 24-16, Armstrong's kill gave Western New England a side-out. After three straight points to pull the Golden Bears within 24-20, Husson called a timeout. Ashley Gonzalez, a freshman, served up WNE's final ace of the evening to tie the set 24-all, capping an 8-point run with seven coming on her serve.
Husson took advantage of a WNE service error for another set point at 25-24, but the Golden Bears scored the last three points to win the match on a Maureen Pollet-Meachem combination that saw them trade plays on a kill-assist on a couple occasions.
This marks Western New England's first ECAC postseason victory since 2009 and are now 2-3 in four such appearances.
