Volleyball Sweeps Curry to Earn First CCC Win

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 2, 2019) – The Western New England University volleyball team earned its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory of the season with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 26-24) sweep of Curry College on Wednesday night at the Alumni Healthful Living Center.

Top Performers
The Golden Bears were led by seniors Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.), Cassandra Holmes (Ellington, Conn.) and Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.). Matthews produced a match-high 16 kills, while Holmes hit .333 with 13 kills and Sibiskie finished with 38 assists, six digs, six kills and three block assists.

For the Colonels, sophomore Lexi Pereira (Attleboro, Mass.) posted a double-double with ten kills and ten digs. Classmate Amanda Wood (Tokyo, Japan) chipped in with eight kills, four digs and three total blocks.

Game Review
Curry was well-positioned to claim an opening set victory, as the Colonels held leads of 21-18, 23-19 and 24-22 late in the frame. Western New England rallied late, however, using consecutive Holmes kills to even the score. After a Caleigh McDermott (Oakdale, N.Y.) service ace gave the Golden Bears a 25-24 lead, Western New England completed its come from behind win with the help of an attack error by Wood.

Following the tight opening set win, the Golden Bears hit a match-best .311 in the second set and cruised to a 25-14 triumph.

The two teams went back and forth in a closely contested third set, with Curry gaining a 23-21 advantage late before Western New England pulled even with kills from junior Danielle Conlon (Foxborough, Mass.) and Holmes. The visitors would regain the lead one final time courtesy of a Wood kill, but the Golden Bears won the final three points to complete the sweep. Following a kill by Holmes and a Wood attack error, the match ended when Sibiskie and Holmes successfully blocked a Pereira attack attempt.  

Notes
• The win improves Western New England to 9-0 all-time against Curry.
• Holmes has posted an attack clip of .300 or better in five of the last six matches with 10+ kills in all but one of those contests.

Up Next
Western New England (8-10, 1-1 CCC) hosts UMass Boston in a Homecoming contest on Saturday at 2 p.m., while Curry (10-5, 0-2 CCC) takes on Eastern Connecticut and Southern Maine in a tri-match on Saturday in Maine.