Golden Bears Split with Framingham State & Colby-Sawyer

Junior Carly Skibinski leads Western New England with 29 kills over the two matches

NEW LONDON, N.H. (September 17, 2016) – The Western New England University volleyball team split two matches with Framingham State University and Colby-Sawyer College this afternoon in non-conference action at Coffin Field House.

The Golden Bears opened their day with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-14) setback to Framingham State, before bouncing back with a 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 15-10) victory over host Colby-Sawyer.

Framingham State 3, Western New England 0

Top Performers
• Junior middle hitter Carly Skibinski (Milford, N.J.) led all players with 11 kills on a .217 hitting percentage.
• Senior setter Jenna Leuck (Dumont, N.J.) tallied 20 assists and 13 digs.

• Framingham State senior right side hitter Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) finished one kill shy of a double-double with ten digs and nine kills.

Match Review
• Western New England hit -.049 in the opening set, making 11 attack errors in 41 attempts. Framingham State opened up a 14-7 lead midway through the frame and didn't look back, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
• The Golden Bears were in control for the first half of the second set, holding leads of 12-7 and 15-12. The Rams used a 3-0 run to tie the score, before pulling ahead for good at 18-17 on a kill by junior Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.). Western New England kept it close but was unable to close the gap, falling 25-22.
• The Golden Bears held an early 5-1 lead in the third set, before falling victim to an 11-0 Framingham State run. After seeing their lead cut to four (14-10), the Rams pulled away to complete the sweep.

Notes
• Western New England's .000 team hitting percentage was its lowest of the season.
• Junior Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.) recorded a match-high 18 digs.

Western New England 3, Colby-Sawyer 2

Top Performers
• Skibinski again led the Golden Bear offense with a match-best 18 kills. The junior captain posted a .333 attack percentage with five errors in 39 attempts.
• Freshman setter Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) handed out a season-high 29 assists and also set a personal best with eight digs.
• Freshman outside hitter Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.) contributed 12 digs and eight kills.

• Senior outside hitter Gabrielle Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) turned in an impressive performance for Colby-Sawyer, finishing with 17 digs, 15 kills and six service aces.

Match Review
• After winning a tight opening set, the Golden Bears fell behind 2-1 in the match with consecutive 25-18 losses to the Chargers in the second and third frames, respectively.
• Needing a win in the fourth set, Western New England fell behind 5-1 early, but rallied to tie the score at 6-6. Neither team was able to build more than a two-point lead until the Golden Bears posted a 5-0 run to go up 19-13. Colby-Sawyer regained the lead with a 7-0 run, however, but the Chargers were unable to complete the comeback as Western New England forced a fifth set with a 25-22 win.
• With the final set tied 7-7, a kill by junior outside hitter Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.) sparked a 3-0 Western New England run that forced a Colby-Sawyer timeout. The Golden Bears pulled away late and sealed the match on a kill from Skibinski.

Notes
• Western New England improved to 1-1 in five-set matches, after dropping a 3-2 decision to WPI in the season opener.
• Roath again led the defense with a career-high 24 digs.
• The Golden Bears posted a match-best .269 attack percentage in the third set, but Colby-Sawyer hit .529 with no errors in 17 attempts.

Up Next
Western New England (7-3) will be back on the road Tuesday night, as the Golden Bears open Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play at Curry.