Volleyball Falls to Amherst & Emerson

Ashley Matthews records 23 kills on the day to lead Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 7, 2019) – The Western New England University volleyball team fell to Amherst College and Emerson College in a tri-match at the Alumni Healthful Living Center on Saturday afternoon.

Amherst 3, WNE 0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-10)

Top Performers
Senior outside hitter Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.) produced a team-high 12 kills for the Golden Bears in the first match of the day, while also tallying 11 digs on the defensive side.

Senior setter Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) dished out 24 assists to go with seven digs, while freshman libero Emily Musso (Wallingford, Conn.) paced the defense with 15 digs.

Amherst senior outside hitter Emily Kolsky (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) led all student-athletes with a match-high 17 kills on a .533 hitting percentage.

Match Review
After dropping the opening set 25-13, the Golden Bears held a 19-18 edge late in the second frame. The Mammoths took control down the stretch, however, winning seven of the final nine points to post a 25-21 victory.

Western New England started off the third set strong with an early 3-0 lead, but Amherst answered with a 4-0 run to pull ahead. Later in the frame, the visitors utilized a 10-2 spurt to extend their advantage to eight (15-7) on their way to an eventual 25-10 win that sealed the match.  

Emerson 3, WNE 1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-18)

Top Performers
Matthews paced the Golden Bears in both kills (11) and digs (14), while senior middle blocker Kierah Parker (Middletown, Conn.) recorded six kills and four block assists.

Senior setter Maria Duffy (Meriden, Conn.) directed the offense with a match-high 32 assists.

For Emerson, junior outside hitter Grace Tepper (Kensington, Md.) accumulated 20 kills to lead all players.

Match Review
Western New England came out with a strong opening set, hitting .303 as a team en route to a 25-23 victory. The second frame was also closely contested, but Emerson was able to come away with a 25-21 win to even the match at one set apiece.

The Golden Bears struggled offensively in the third set, while Emerson hit .321 and cruised to a 25-13 triumph to take a 2-1 lead. In the fourth and final frame, Western New England trailed by ten (19-9) late, but rallied to pull to within four (21-17). That would be as close as the home team got, however, as the Lions closed out the set and the match.

Up Next
Western New England (2-5) travels to Framingham State on Tuesday night, before returning home on Thursday to face Sage.