Armstrong Leads Volleyball to Five Set Win over Salve Regina in CCC Quarterfinals

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 3, 2015) - Led by a career-high 18 kills from senior outside hitter Kelsey Armstrong (Groton, Conn.), the fourth-seeded Western New England University volleyball team held off fifth-seeded Salve Regina University for a 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-6) victory in the quarterfinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship this evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
 
With the win, Western New England (14-12, 5-3 CCC) advances to Thursday night's CCC semifinals to take on top-seeded Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I. The other semifinal match will pit third-seeded Endicott College against second-seeded Gordon College. The two semifinal winners will meet in the CCC Championship match, to be held this Saturday at the site of the higher seed. Salve Regina sees its season come to a close at 11-17 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
 
This evening's contest marked the second consecutive CCC Championship match between Western New England and Salve Regina to go the full five sets, as the Seahawks claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory in last year's semifinal in Springfield.
 
This time around the fifth set would go the Golden Bears' way, however, as they raced out to a 6-1 lead in the decisive frame with the help of two Salve Regina errors and two aces from Western New England sophomore outside hitter Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, N.J.). The visitors clawed their way back into the set, trailing by two (8-6) after an ace from sophomore libero Morgan VanderBaan (Douglas, Mass.), but Armstrong's 18^th and final kill of the contest sparked a 7-0, match-ending run by the Golden Bears that culminated in a pair of aces by sophomore Brianna Roath (Jackson, N.J.).
 
Kornberg posted one of three Western New England double-doubles this evening, as she finished with 13 digs and ten kills to go with three service aces. Senior Olivia Lathrop (Farmington, Conn.) and sophomore Carly Skibinski (Milford, N.J.) also recorded ten kills each while combining for seven digs and six blocks, and freshman libero Emily Woodford (Belchertown, Mass.) led the defensive effort with a season-high 29 digs.
 
Juniors Jessica Sincero (Verplanck, N.Y.) and Jenna Leuck (Dumont, N.J.) split the setting duties for the Golden Bears, recording 26 and 17 assists, respectively, while also playing key roles defensively with 16 digs each. Roath chipped in with nine digs and four of Western New England's 13 service aces.
 
Salve Regina was led by freshman setter Erin Proctor (Canton, Mass.), who dished out a match-high 38 assists to go with 20 digs and a pair of aces. Senior middle blocker Emily Lipinski (Hampden, Mass.) was the lone Seahawk in double-digit kills with ten, while sophomore Samantha Higgins (Coventry, Conn.) finished with eight kills, seven digs and six blocks (one solo).
 
After splitting the first two frames tonight, the Seahawks and Golden Bears battled back and forth in the pivotal third set, with the visitors holding a 24-23 lead late. A kill by Lathrop tied the score and a subsequent service ace from Leuck gave Western New England a one-point edge, but the Seahawks answered with a kill from freshman Cassidy Trablicy (Phoenix, Az.). The Golden Bears would come out on top, however, as Kornberg put down a kill before a Salve Regina ball handling error ended the set.
 
Needing a fourth frame win to extend the match, the Seahawks pulled away late in the set, leading 23-18 after three straight kills by Higgins. Western New England would score one more point on a Salve Regina attack error, before the visitors closed out the set to force a fifth frame.
 
The Golden Bears posted a .144 hitting percentage tonight, totaling 55 kills with 27 errors in 195 attempts, while Salve Regina hit just .079 with 44 kills and 29 errors in 190 attempts.