Golden Bears Split Matches with Wheaton & UMass Dartmouth

Western New England defeats Corsairs (3-0) after falling to Lyons (3-1)

NORTON, Mass. (October 14, 2017) – The Western New England University volleyball team went 1-1 in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Wheaton College's Emerson Gymnasium. The Golden Bears fell to the Lyons, 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-11, 25-22), before defeating UMass Dartmouth, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 26-24). 

Wheaton 3, Western New England 1

Top Performers
• Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.) recorded a team-high nine kills.
• Senior outside hitter Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.) hit .429 with seven kills and seven digs.
• Senior libero Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.) tallied 22 digs and three service aces.

• Wheaton was led by freshman right side hitter Julia Palomba (San Carlos, Calif.), who hit .407 with 13 kills, 14 digs, two aces, and two assists.
• Sophomore setter Becca Houghton (Emmaus, Pa.) compiled 43 assists and eight digs for the Lyons.

Match Review
• Western New England hit .281 with 11 kills and just two errors in the opening set, but Wheaton was even more efficient, posting a .344 attack percentage. Leading 16-15, the Lyons gained some separation with a 3-0 run en route to a set one win.
• With the second set tied at 20, the Golden Bears got a kill from freshman Abigail Bundy (Lebanon, Conn.) followed by a Kornberg service ace and a Wheaton attack error to pull ahead by three. A kill by senior Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.) ended the set and evened the match at 1-1.
• Wheaton raced out to a 13-6 lead in the third frame and never looked back, taking a 2-1 lead with a 25-11 triumph.
• The Lyons emerged victorious in tightly contested fourth set, as they won the final three points after a kill by Matthews tied the frame at 22.

Western New England 3, UMass Dartmouth 0

Top Performers
• Heffer led the way for the Golden Bears in their second match of the day, hitting .391 with a team-high 12 kills.
• Sophomore setter Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) dished out 31 assists to go with 12 digs, two kills and two aces, while Roath recorded a team-high 13 digs, four assists and three aces.

• Sophomore Nicole Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) paced the Corsairs with eight kills and seven digs.  

Match Review
• Trailing 6-5 in the first set, Western New England posted a 6-0 run and won 11 of the next 13 points overall to take a 16-8 lead en route to a 25-17 win.
• The Golden Bears led for the majority of the second set, until UMass Dartmouth rallied to pull even at 18-18. A kill from Sibiskie gave Western New England the lead for good, however, as the Golden Bears closed out the set with a 7-2 run.
• Western New England established an early 11-5 lead in the third set before the Corsairs rallied again to tie the score at 20. The teams continued to trade points until a Bundy kill and a UMass Dartmouth ball handling error allowed the Golden Bears to complete the sweep.

Notes
• Western New England is 5-3 in neutral site matches this season.
• Heffer's 12 kills against UMass Dartmouth were her most since totaling 13 at WPI on September 14.

Up Next
Western New England (12-11) returns to action on Wednesday night, when the Golden Bears travel to Salve Regina for a CCC match.