Volleyball Routs Lyons 3-0 on the Road

HOLYOKE, Mass. (October 8, 2021) – The Golden Bears traveled to Mount Holyoke this evening for a non-conference match at 6 p.m. where Western New England earned a hard fought 3-0 victory over the Lyons.

Records:

• Western New England: 9-7, 2-2 CCC
• Mount Holyoke: 3-12, 0-7 NEWMAC

How It Happened:

The Golden Bears opened the first set with a 4-0 lead with Taylor Geist at the serve recording an ace. Western New England led 6-3 when the Lyons took control recording eight straight points to take their first lead of the set 12-6. After going down 13-7, the Golden Bears rallied for five points to get back within one of the Lyons (13-12). After the Lyons gained the serve for one point, a few costly errors allowed Western New England to take back the lead 15-14. The set was then tied two times before the Golden Bears gained the serve and scored four unanswered points, two of which were kills by Abigail Bundy. The Golden Bears finished the set with back-to-back kills from Bundy and Geist to win the first set 25-19.

Geist opened the second set with another service ace for Western New England to lead 2-0. The set was tied twice, and the Golden Bears led 7-5 when the offense kicked in for the Golden Bears to go on a 7-0 run with Taylor Deluga at the serve. Western New England recorded two 3-0 runs to lead 24-11 when the Lyons went into desperation mode to not give up set point. They scored eight before the Golden Bears could close out the second set winning 25-19 and taking the 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set began with the Lyons leading 3-0 before the back-and-forth action began with neither team able to score more than two consecutive points. The Lyons led 12-9 when the Golden Bears took it up a notch with Sarah Scott at the serve to tie the set 12-12 and then take the 14-12 lead. The Lyons answered with four points themselves to regain the lead 16-14. The set was then tied six more times with the final time being 24-24. The Golden Bears rallied and won the final point with a service ace from Isabelle Petty to earn the 26-24 third set win along with the 3-0 match victory over the Lyons.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Golden Bears tallied 40 kills, 31 assists and 52 digs in the match while also earning 10 service aces and a .138 hitting percentage.
• Nina Sullivan led the Golden Bears with a career-high nine kills while Scott tallied eight kills and 17 digs.
• Geist led the team with 27 assists while also earning five service aces, four kills and eight digs.
• Petty, Bundy and Sydney Tabor all recorded six kills in the match.
• Becca Mayer recorded 12 digs.

Up Next:

The Golden Bears return home on Wednesday, October 13^th when they host conference rival Suffolk at 7 p.m.