Salve Regina Hands Western New England First CCC Loss, 3-1

Holmes leads Golden Bears, hitting .524 with 12 kills & 5 aces

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 3, 2018) – The Western New England University volleyball team suffered its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) loss of the season as the Golden Bears fell 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) to Salve Regina University on Wednesday evening at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
Junior middle blocker Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) led the way for the Golden Bears offensively, as she posted a .524 hitting percentage with a team-high 12 kills and five service aces.

Sophomore outside hitter Hailey McDonnell (Methuen, Mass.) registered a double-double with ten kills and 13 digs, while junior outside hitter Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.) finished with eight kills and 12 digs and sophomore setter Jenna McCormack (Nashua, N.H.) handed out 42 assists.

Senior outside hitter Jenna Ferguson (Ellington, Conn.) was also a key contributor for Western New England with nine kills and a team-high 14 digs.

Salve Regina was led by senior outside hitter Cassidy Trabilcy (Phoenix, Ariz.), who totaled a match-high 14 kills and 12 digs.

Junior middle blocker Annie Donahue (Chelmsford, Mass.) hit .588 with 11 kills, while senior setter Erin Proctor (Canton, Mass.) recorded 38 assists and ten digs.

Game Review
After dropping the first two sets by matching scores of 25-20, the Golden Bears rebounded with a 25-19 win in the third frame.

Western New England got off to a strong start with the help of three aces from Holmes, as the Golden Bears led 6-1 early. Salve Regina rallied to pull ahead 14-12, before Western New England used a 4-0 run to regain a 16-14 edge. The Golden Bears never relinquished their lead after that point, and they pulled away down the stretch to take the set.

Needing a win in the fourth frame to force a fifth set, Western New England established an early 10-6 advantage. The Seahawks won seven of the next eight points to claim a 13-11 lead, but the Golden Bears answered with a 3-0 run to tie the set.

The score remained close late into the frame with the Golden Bears taking a 20-19 lead on a Salve attack error. The Seahawks took control from there, however, closing out the set with a 6-1 run to clinch the match.  

Notes
• Western New England hit .190 for the match, while the Seahawks posted a .264 attack percentage.
• Holmes hit over .500 for the second time this season, after posting a .556 clip in a 3-0 win over Nichols on September 25.
• McCormack topped the 40-assist mark for the fifth time this season.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Friday night, as Western New England (6-12, 3-1 CCC) travels to Mount Holyoke College and Salve Regina (11-7, 2-2 CCC) hits the road to face St. Joseph's College.