Volleyball Falls 3-0 to Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. (September 15, 2021) – The Golden Bears' volleyball team traveled to Westfield State tonight for a non-conference match where the Owls took the match 3-0.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-3, 0-0 CCC
• Westfield State: 1-9, 0-1 MASCAC

How It Happened:

The Owls opened the first set with a 5-3 lead and extended it to 7-4 before the Golden Bears earned the serve with a kill by Alissa Hawes and then scored two more points off service aces by Sarah Scott to tie the set 7-7. The set was tied two more times, at 10-10 and 13-13, before Westfield State rallied for a 6-0 run followed by a 3-0 run to Western New England's one point. The Owls led 22-15 and eventually took the set 25-17.

The second set began similarly with the Owls leading 4-1 and then after a 4-0, Westfield State claimed a 9-4 lead over the Golden Bears. With Becca Mayer at the serve, the Golden Bears got within one (9-8) of the Owls while Mayer recorded two service aces. Westfield remained in the lead up 15-12 when Western New England gained some control for a 3-0 run to tie the set 15-15. The Golden Bears tied the set at 16-16 before Scott took the serve once again and tallied three service aces to give her team the 21-16 lead. The Owls responded with a 4-0 run later to tie the set 22-22. The back-and-forth action began where neither team was ahead by more than one, forcing the set into extra points. The Owls eventually came out victorious winning the set 29-27 and earning a 2-0 lead in the match.

Westfield State took an early 6-2 lead in the third set only for the Golden Bears to answer with a 5-0 run to take a 7-6 lead. The Owls traded points before gaining momentum and scoring five unanswered points to earn a four-point lead (12-8). The Owls continued to put runs together compared to the Western New England's one or two points. The Owls took the third and final set 25-19 and won the match 3-0.

Inside the Numbers:

• Scott recorded yet another double-double on the year with 10 kills and 12 digs and tallied two assists and six service aces in the match.
• Mayer also recorded 12 digs in the match along with two assists and two service aces.
• Hailey Sell continues to set new career-bests for herself and tallied 30 assists in the match tonight along with four kills and one dig.
• The Golden Bears tallied a total of 36 kills with a .026 hitting percentage along with 34 assists, 11 service aces and 34 digs.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears travel to Wheaton College for a tri-match with Wheaton and Smith on Saturday, September 18^th. Western New England challenges Smith at 1 p.m. and Wheaton at 3 p.m.