No. 6 Volleyball Comes Up Short to No. 2 Roger Williams in CCC Semifinals

BRISTOL, R.I. (November 4, 2021) – No. 6 Western New England traveled to No. 2 Roger Williams for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Semifinals looking to complete another upset to remain alive in the tournament. The Golden Bears won the first set before the Hawks took control to win the next three and take the match 3-1.

Records:

• Roger Williams: 11-10, 7-2 CCC
• Western New England: 12-14, 4-5 CCC

How It Happened:

The Golden Bears opened the first set with great energy tallying a total of 11 kills hitting .242 percent. After taking a 9-5 lead, the Hawks responded to the Golden Bears' lead with two points. Western New England then rallied for five straight points to take their largest lead 14-7. Roger Williams began to make up ground to get back within three only down 16-13 later in the set. This only motivated the Golden Bears who went on a 5-0 run to take a 21-13 lead that the Hawks couldn't recover from, and Western New England took the first set 25-19.

Roger Williams opened the second set scoring the first two points and later earned a 7-3 lead after three straight points. The Golden Bears battled to get back within two (10-18) before rallying for three points to take their first lead of the second set 11-10. The set was then tied three times before the Golden Bears went on a 4-0 run to lead 17-13. The Hawks gathered themselves in a timeout and began the back-and-forth action before recording a 9-0 run to win the set 25-19 and tie the match 1-1.

The Hawks scored the first point in the third set as well before the Golden Bears went on a run to take a 5-4 lead. The lead did not last long as the Hawks rallied for five points to take a 9-5 lead. The Golden Bears were able to chip away at the Hawks' lead getting back within one (13-12) before Roger Williams tallied five straight points to lead 18-12. The Golden Bears were unable to put a run together and fell in the third set 25-19 and dropped 2-1 in the match.

The Golden Bears scored the first point of the fourth set before the score was tied four time before the Hawks took a 6-4 lead. Roger Williams continued to score two points to the Golden Bears' one until they earned a 15-10 lead. The Golden Bears were then able to rally for three points to get within two (15-13). The back-and-forth action then began before the Hawks gained the serve and scored six unanswered points to win the fourth and final set 25-17 and the match 3-1.

Inside the Numbers:

• The Golden Bears earned 46 kills, six aces, seven blocks, 46 assists and 63 digs in the match.
• Sarah Scott led the Golden Bears in kills with 13 while also leading the team in aces (2) and digs (15).
• Isabelle Petty had a stand out performance with four blocks while Taylor Geist notched three along with Abigail Bundy.
• Hailey Sell led with 22 assists along with two aces while Geist earned 18 assists in the match.
• Olivia Hall notched nine kills while Alissa Hawes tallied nine kills, one ace and nine digs.
• Becca Mayer earned 13 digs and four assists.