Western New England Earns First Two Wins of 2016 at Mount Holyoke Tri-Match

Golden Bears drop just one set in victories over host Lyons and St. Joseph

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (September 3, 2016) – The Western New England University volleyball team earned its first two victories of the 2016 season while dropping just one set today during a tri-match at Mount Holyoke College's Mildred Howard Gym.

The Golden Bears rolled to a 3-0 sweep of the host Lyons in the morning, before defeating the University of St. Joseph 3-1 to complete the successful 2-0 day.

Western New England 3, Mount Holyoke 0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-16)

Top Performers
• Freshman middle hitter Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) led a balanced Western New England offensive effort with a team-high eight kills and a .357 hitting percentage.

• Junior middle hitter Carly Skibinski (Milford, N.J.) added seven kills with just one error in 12 attempts for a .500 attack clip. She also added three digs and two block assists.

• Junior outside hitter Emmaline Chiodini (Saint Louis, Mo.) finished with a team-high 9.5 points after recording six service aces, three kills and a block assist.

• Sophomores Joy Moran (Santa Fe, N.M.) and Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla.) paced Mount Holyoke with seven kills each.

Game Review
• Western New England cruised in the first set, opening up an early 7-1 lead on its way to a 25-12 victory.
• Mount Holyoke led 16-12 midway through the second set following a kill by Moran, but the Golden Bears used a 7-2 run to claim a 19-18 edge. The Lyons fought back to tie the frame at 22, but a 3-0 Western New England run, capped by kills from junior outside hitter Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Holmes, gave the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead in the match.

• Western New England recovered from an early 6-2 deficit in the third set, taking a 9-8 lead that it would not relinquish. The Golden Bears posted a 5-0 run after taking the lead for good and didn't let their advantage dip below four the rest of the way. Leading 20-16, Western New England turned in a 5-0 run to seal the three-set sweep.  

Notes
• Western New England's victory marks the first win for new head coach Samantha Shomo '11, who took over the program in late July after spending five seasons at Anna Maria College.
• The Golden Bears hit .450 in the opening set with 11 kills and just two errors in 20 attempts. Western New England hit .195 for the match.
• Senior setter Jenna Leuck (Dumont, N.J.) followed up her career-best 42-assist effort from Thursday with 23 against the Lyons.
• Junior Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.) led the Western New England defense with a match-high 12 digs.

Western New England 3, St. Joseph 1 (25-13, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20)

Top Performers
• Junior outside hitter Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.) paced the Western New England offense with a team-high nine kills while making just one error in 19 attempts (.421).
• Leuck totaled 30 assists, six digs, five kills and one block assist.
• Holmes made a significant impact on both offense (seven kills) and defense (four block assists).

• Senior middle hitter Cassandra Grimaldi (Manchester, Conn.) led the Blue Jays with a team-high nine kills and also contributed two blocks and two assists.  

Game Review
• Leading 9-6 in the opening set, Western New England took control of the frame with a 6-0 run that included three aces from Skibinski and two kills by Kornberg. The Golden Bears led by as many as 13 points en route to the 25-13 win.
• After going up 2-0 in the match with a 25-21 second set victory, Western New England dropped the third frame to St. Joseph by a 25-20 score.
• The Golden Bears faced a 16-11 deficit in the fourth set, before reeling off six straight points to tie the score and force a Blue Jays timeout.
• Trailing 19-18, Western New England posted a 5-0 run with the help of three straight aces from Chiodini, to pull ahead 23-19. St. Joseph managed just one more point before committing consecutive errors that ended the set in the match in Western New England's favor.

Notes

• Chiodini finished the day with ten aces after recording four against the Blue Jays in just one set.
• Western New England posted a match-best .379 hitting percentage in the second set and committed just seven attack errors over the first two frames combined.
• Roath again led the defensive effort with a team-high 18 digs and finished with 30 for the day.

Up Next

Western New England (2-1) returns home on Tuesday night for a non-conference contest against Wheaton College. The Golden Bears will host Anna Maria, Emerson, and Elms as part of the Western New England Invitational next Saturday, September 10.