Golden Bears Earn Three Victories En Route to Western New England Invitational Title

Junior Carly Skibinski named Tournament MVP

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 10, 2016) – The Western New England University volleyball team earned three impressive victories on its way to the Western New England Invitational title this afternoon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

The Golden Bears opened the day with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-20, 28-26, 25-19) win over Anna Maria College, before posting 3-0 sweeps of both Emerson College (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) and Elms College (25-14, 25-13, 25-15). At the conclusion of play, junior middle hitter Carly Skibinski (Milford, N.J.) was named Tournament MVP and classmate Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.) joined her on the All-Tournament Team.

WNE 3, Anna Maria 1

Top Performers
• Skibinski turned in a dominant performance in Western New England's opener, tallying a career-high 19 kills with just two errors in 26 total attempts for a .654 hitting percentage.
• Senior setter Jenna Leuck (Dumont, N.J.) dished out 33 assists and also added 14 digs, six kills and three service aces.

• Sophomore outside hitter Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) finished with 17 kills, ten digs and four aces for Anna Maria.

Match Review
• Anna Maria took the opening set, 26-24, despite Western New England's .257 hitting percentage.
• The Golden Bears evened the match with a 25-20 win in the second set, before pulling ahead with a tight, 28-26 win in the third frame.
• Anna Maria posted a 5-0 run early in the fourth set, but Western New England tied it up at 5-5 with a 4-0 run before taking the lead for good at 7-6 on a kill by sophomore middle hitter Cheyenne Garcia (Dover, N.H.). The Golden Bears eventually opened up a five-point advantage before closing out the match with a 25-19 triumph.

Notes
 • Western New England's win gave head coach Samantha Shomo '11 a victory over her former team, as she coached the AMCATS from 2011-15.
• Leuck reached the 30-assist mark for the third time this season.
• Western New England posted its highest hitting percentage (.260) of the season.

WNE 3, Emerson 0

Top Performers
• Kornberg registered a double-double with ten kills and ten digs to go with a pair of service aces.
• Junior libero Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.) led the Golden Bear defense with a match-high 16 digs.

• Sophomore setter Moira Brennan (Glenview, Ill.) led the Lions with 20 assists and added five kills.

Match Review
• Western New England was able to pull ahead in the tight opening set with an early 4-0 run to go up 9-5. Emerson fought all the way back to claim a 22-21 edge, but the Golden Bears scored four of the final five points, culminating in a kill by Kornberg.
• The Lions scored the first point of set two, but Western New England answered with five straight points and didn't trail again, holding off a late Emerson rally to claim a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Golden Bears utilized a 7-1 run midway through the third set to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 15-10 lead. Emerson pulled to within two (22-20) late, but Western New England scored the final three points to seal the match.

Notes
 • Skibinski, classmate Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.) freshman Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) finished with three block assists each.
• Kornberg's double-double was her second of the season and third of her career.

WNE 3, Elms 0

Top Performers
• Making her collegiate debut, freshman middle hitter Kierah Parker (Middletown, Conn.) tallied a team-high ten kills and finished with a .350 hitting percentage.
• Junior Torie Howdeshell (Fairbanks, Alaska) led all players with six service aces.

• Freshman outside hitter Hannah Adams (Greenfield, Mass.) recorded a team-high eight kills for the Blazers.

Match Review
• Elms scored the first three points of the match, but Western New England quickly took control with a 7-0 run to open up a 12-5 lead. The Golden Bears didn't let their cushion dip below seven the rest of the set and led by as many as 14 (22-8) on their way to a 25-14 win.
• Western New England gained separation midway through the second set, using a 6-0 run to extend its lead to seven (15-8). Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Ferguson's (Ellington, Conn.) kill capped a 3-0 run to close out the frame as the Golden Bears took a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Western New England faced a 10-7 deficit early in the third set, and trailed until Parker evened the score at 13-13 with her tenth kill of the contest. The Golden Bears outscored Elms 12-2 the rest of the way to complete the sweep.

Notes
 • Western New England piled up a season-high 19 service aces.
• The Golden Bears extended their winning streak to six matches following their season-opening, 3-2 setback to WPI on September 1. This marks Western New England's longest winning streak since the team started the season 10-0 in 2013.

Up Next

Western New England (6-1) will look to keep rolling on Wednesday night at Amherst College, before hitting the road again on Saturday for a tri-match at Colby-Sawyer.