Volleyball Defeats Framingham and UMass Dartmouth in Road Tri-Match

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (September 4, 2021) – The Western New England volleyball team competed in a tri-match hosted by UMass Dartmouth earlier today where the Golden Bears defeated both Framingham State and UMass Dartmouth to remain undefeated in 2021.

Records:

• Framingham State: 1-1
• UMass Dartmouth: 0-2
• Western New England: 3-0

How It Happened: vs. Framingham State

The two teams began trading points right at the beginning of the first set with neither team being able to gain more than a three-point lead. The Rams led 7-4 before the Golden Bears went on a 3-0 run to tie the set 7-7 with a kill from Isabelle Petty. The set was then tied six more times before the Rams solidified a 16-14 lead and later extended their lead to 20-16. The Golden Bears were unable to recover and dropped the first set 25-19.

In the second set, it was Western New England that jumped out to lead 8-5 with a service ace by Sarah Scott along with a kill from Petty and Sydney Tabor. The Rams bounced back to tie the set 8-8 only to motivated the Golden Bears to go on a 4-0 run and take a 12-8 lead. A 3-0 run by the Golden Bears extended their lead to five (16-11) with a kill and service ace from Tabor. After the Rams scored two more points, Western New England took their offense up a notch to score five unanswered points and earn their largest lead of the game (21-13). With the Golden Bears leading 23-15, the Rams rallied and scored seven straight points to get within one (23-22). Western New England sealed the set win with a kill from both Sarah Scott and Petty to tie the match 1-1.

Framingham State took a 2-0 lead followed by the Golden Bears later tying the set 3-3. The Rams then rallied with Anna Szymanski at the serve to score seven points in a row and take a 10-3 lead. The Golden Bears slowly started to dig themselves out trading points with the Rams but were unable to close the gap and dropped the third set 25-14 for the Rams to lead 2-1 in the match.

In the fourth set, it was the Golden Bears who started with a 7-0 run with Zoe Bozzay at the serve and Abigail Bundy tallying two kills in the run. The Rams fought to stay within eight when the Golden Bears led 15-7. With Nina Sullivan at the serve, the Golden Bears went on a 4-0 to extend their lead to twelve (19-7). Western New England was able to keep their lead and won the fourth set 25-14 to tie the match again at 2-2.

Headed into the fifth and final set, the Golden Bears scored the first point only for the match to then be tied seven times. Western New England took a two-point lead (12-10) with Bozzay at the serve and then scored the final three points of the set with Petty earning the final point to give the Golden Bears the 3-2 win over Framingham State.

Inside The Numbers: vs. Framingham State

• Sydney Tabor had a career-high 13 kills with one service ace, four digs and two block assists in the match while teammate Isabelle Petty also set a career-high with 11 kills.
• Sarah Scott recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs for the second double-double of her career.
• Taylor Geist set a career-high recording 27 assists while tallying five kills and five digs while Hailey Sell earned 18 assists, also a career-high, with four kills and four digs.
• Becca Mayer earned 28 digs for a career-high while tallying three assists.

How It Happened: vs. UMass Dartmouth

In the Golden Bears second game of the day, they challenged the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth. The first set was tied four times before the Golden Bears took control and scored four unanswered points with Scott at the serve earning one service ace. The Corsairs rallied to tie the set 8-8 to begin the trading of points again. The Corsairs tied the set 11-11 and then scored four more points to take a 15-11 lead, their largest of the set. Despite efforts by the Golden Bears, the Corsairs held onto their lead and won the first set 25-18 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Western New England took an early 3-0 lead in the second set and then extended their lead to seven (8-1) after a five-point run with Isabella Procida at the serve recording one service ace in the run. The Corsairs answered with a 4-0 run to get back within three of the Golden Bears (8-5). Western Nee England responded with a 3-0 run to take back a six-point lead (11-5). The back-and-forth action then began with neither team able to score more than three points consecutively until the Golden Bears scored the final two points of the set to win 25-16 and tie the match 1-1.

In the third set, the Golden Bears took a 4-2 lead and remained in the lead until the Corsairs scored four consecutively to take a 9-7 lead. Western New England amped up their offense with Scott at the serve and scored five straight to take back the lead 12-9. The two teams began trading points before Geist got to the serve and led the Golden Bears to a 5-0 run for a 23-16 lead. The Golden Bears won the third set 25-18 to lead in the match 2-1.

The fourth set started with instant back-and-forth action with the set being tied three times before the Golden Bears took an 8-6 lead. Western New England led 10-9 before going on a 4-0 run to extend their lead to five (14-9). A 3-0 run and another 4-0 run put the Golden Bears up 23-13. The Corsairs rallied to score five unanswered points before the Golden Bears solidified the fourth set win 25-19 and took the match 3-1.

Inside the Numbers: vs. UMass Dartmouth

• Sarah Scott set a new career-high with 16 kills and recorded her second double-double of the season and third of her career with 10 digs while adding four service aces in the match.
• Alissa Hawes made her career debut recording nine kills, two digs and one block assist.
• Taylor Geist topped herself in the second match of the day to set a new career-high with 29 assists and earned the double-double with 12 digs.
• Both Geist and Becca Mayer earned 12 digs in the match.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears are back in action on Thursday, September 9^th when they host Framingham State at 7:00 p.m. for their second showdown in less than a week.