Ferguson Records 14 Kills in Western New England’s 3-1 Senior Day Loss to Endicott

Ferguson leads Golden Bears with team-high 14 kills

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 20, 2018) – The Western New England University volleyball team fell to Endicott College, 3-1 (25-17, 25-12, 23-25, 25-9) on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Prior to the start of the match, Western New England honored senior outside hitter Jenna Ferguson (Ellington, Conn.) for her contributions to the program over the past four seasons.

Top Performers
Ferguson led the way for the Golden Bears with a team-high 14 kills and seven digs, while junior outside hitter Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.) posted a double-double with 13 kills and ten digs.

Sophomore setter Jenna McCormack (Nashua, N.H.) finished with 32 assists, 11 digs and two block assists.

Endicott senior outside hitter Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) fueled the Gulls, as she hit .404 with a match-best 24 kills, ten digs and four block assists.

Game Review
Endicott overcame a slow start in the opening set, as the Golden Bears led 4-0 before the Gulls surged ahead 6-5. Midway through the frame, Endicott used a 3-0 run to gain some separation (16-12), and the visitors continued to pull away down the stretch to seal the opening set triumph.

In the second set, three early kills by Mancini staked the Gulls to a 4-1 lead, and they never looked back. Endicott eventually stretched its advantage to eight (20-12) later in the set and closed out the frame with six straight points.

The Golden Bears trailed 20-16 in the third set, but they posted a 5-0 run to take a 21-20 lead and eventually came away with a 25-23 win to force a fourth frame.

It was all Endicott in the fourth set, however, as the Gulls raced out to a 10-4 lead on their way to a 25-9 victory.

Notes
• Ferguson reached the 10-kill mark for the sixth time this season.
• Western New England posted a .098 hitting percentage for the match, while the Gulls hit .358 as a team.

Up Next
Western New England (8-17, 3-3 CCC) will be back at the AHLC on Tuesday night to host Gordon College at 7 p.m., while Endicott (16-10, 5-1 CCC) travels to Boston to face Wentworth.