Golden Bears Celebrate Senior Day With 3-0 Wins over Curry & Keene State

Western New England hits season-best .378 against Owls

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 28, 2017) – The Western New England University volleyball team celebrated senior day with 3-0 victories over both Curry College (25-17, 25-11, 25-22) and Keene State College (25-15, 25-19, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Prior to the start of the first match, Western New England honored its four seniors, Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.), Sam Heffer (Bethpage, N.Y.), Emmaline Chiodini (St. Louis, Mo.) and Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.) for their contributions to the volleyball program. 

Western New England 3, Curry 0

Top Performers
• Chiodini led the Golden Bears offensively, hitting .324 with 13 kills and five service aces to go with three digs and two blocks.
• Sophomore setter Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) compiled 33 assists, 15 digs, five kills and one block assist. 
• Kornberg finished with seven kills, 12 digs, one assist and one block assist.

• Curry junior Grace Stafford (West Yarmouth, Mass.) recorded team-highs in both kills (nine) and digs (17).

Match Review
• With the opening set tied at 13-13, a kill by sophomore Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) sparked a 7-0 Western New England run that saw the Golden Bears open up a 20-13 advantage. Curry cut its deficit to four later in the set, but Western New England won five of the final six points to close out the frame.
• The Golden Bears opened the second set with a 6-0 run and didn't trail the rest of the way. After a Curry run brought the visitors back to within two (6-4), Western New England began to gain some separation midway through the frame. A kill from Chiodini extended the lead to seven (14-7) en route to a 25-11 triumph for the Golden Bears.
• Curry led 5-0 and 9-4 in the third set, before Western New England pulled back ahead (12-11) on a kill by Chiodini. The set remained close throughout, as the Colonels were able to get to within two (24-22) before another Chiodini kill sealed the win for the Golden Bears.

Western New England 3, Keene State 0

Top Performers
• Chiodini turned in another impressive performance in the second match of the day, as she hit .562 with 11 kills, 11 digs, four aces and two blocks.
• Heffer also hit .562 with ten kills to go with three block assists and one dig.
• Sibiskie dished out 30 assists and also recorded three aces, three digs and three block assists.

• Keene State senior outside hitter Rachel Lamica (Malone, N.Y.) paced the Owls with a team-high nine kills.

Match Review
• Western New England set the tone for the match early in the first set, as the Golden Bears won the first six points on their way to a 12-3 advantage. Keene State pulled to within six (21-15) late, but Western New England closed out the set with a 4-0 run that featured two kills from Chiodini.
• An 8-0 run early in the second set allowed Keene State to establish a 12-7 lead, but the Golden Bears responded with a 6-0 run to claim a 13-12 edge. After the Owls tied the score, Western New England won the next three points and pulled away late to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• The Golden Bears got off to another strong start in the third set, as they opened the frame on a 4-0 run and never looked back. Western New England, which led 17-9 after a kill by Holmes, went on to post a 25-14 triumph and complete the sweep.

Notes
• Western New England's .378 hitting percentage against Keene State is its highest this season.  
• With 11 kills and 11 digs against the Owls, Chiodini registered her ninth double-double of the season.

Up Next
Western New England (16-13, 5-4 CCC), which finished fifth in the CCC standings, will be on the road at fourth-seeded Wentworth when the CCC Tournament gets underway with quarterfinal round action on Tuesday night.