WORCESTER, Mass. (September 30, 2023) – After winning the first two sets over Salve Regina, the Western New England women's volleyball team fell to both the Seahawks and then dropped a four-set match to the Cougars of Clark University, dropping both tri-match decisions on Saturday afternoon.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-7
• Salve Regina University: 10-6
• Clark University: 10-5

How it Happened (vs. Salve Regina):
In their first meeting since the Seahawks joined the NEWMAC conference, the Golden Bears opened the first two sets with victories. After seeing Salve grab the first three points of set one, Western New England would rattle off four points in a row, grabbing kills from Hailey Sell, Elizabeth Long, and Alissa Hawes to grab an early 4-3 lead. Salve would grow their lead to four to take the lead. Western New England came roaring back, rattling off six straight points in the set, going from trailing 17-12 to leading 18-17 on help from Ella Soutter, Alissa Hawes, and Isabelle Petty. WNE would win six of the final seven points, with Yemayma Molina winning the 25^th point of the set for Western New England, giving WNE a 1-0 lead.

In the second set, it would be more of the same for the Golden Bears, coming out by winning the first four points of the match, with Hailey Sell recording back-to-back service aces to get WNE rolling. The Golden Bears would never trail in the second set, leading by as many as 14 points in the second set. WNE recorded ten kills and had just three errors in the set to take a 25-13 second set to lead 2-0.

Salve Regina would return the favor to Western New England, coming back late in the third set to take the win. Western New England would take an 8-5 lead on an error by the Seahawks, while Isabelle Petty would be set up by Taylor Geist on a kill, as WNE led by three points at the midway point of the third set. Salve Regina came around to take their first lead since the early stages of the third set at 18-17 and would eventually rip off three straight points at 21-20 in favor of WNE to take a 23-21 lead. The back-and-forth action would see the Golden Bears surrender the final two points of the set as the Seahawks took the 25-23 victory.

The fourth set would come down to the final points of the match, needing extra time to wrap up the set. Alissa Hawes would come away with two early kills, giving the Golden Bears a 5-4 lead. Seven of eight points in the set would go the way of the Golden Bears, as Ella Soutter, Taylor Geist, Isabelle Petty, and Isabella Procida would help the Golden Bears take a seven-point lead at 13-6. Salve would mount a comeback, taking six of seven points after trailing by six, getting within one point of the lead, trailing 16-15. Western New England would see match point at 24-22 when Hailey Sell would be set up by Alissa Hawes, giving WNE a 24-22 lead. Salve Regina would take the next two points, tying the match at 24. Western New England would again force a match point when a service error was all WNE needed to lead 25-24. Salve Regina would take the next three points, forcing a fifth and final set in the match.

The teams would trade points until Salve Regina grabbed three straight points after an 8-8 score. Salve Regina would put the match away on a service ace, winning the match 3-2 and 15-10 in the final set, completing the 2-0 deficit comeback.

How It Happened (vs. Clark University)
Western New England looked to rebound quickly, facing the hosting Cougars of Clark University. Western New England would lead 4-2 after kills from Yemayama Molina and Alissa Hawes got WNE started early. The teams would exchange points before the Cougars would grab four straight points to take a 9-7 lead. Western New England would fall behind 17-11 at one point before climbing back into the match, trailing by just three points on a service ace by Ella Soutter. WNE would see Clark respond and close out the first set, winning 25-20.

Western New England would battle in the second set, needing extra time to take the victory. Clark would start off with a quick 6-2 lead before WNE would see Ella Soutter come away with a kill to help start a WNE rally. Clark would respond, grabbing five straight points and putting the Golden Bears in a nine-point hole as Clark led 15-6. Western New England would storm back, making the score 20-20, taking 14 of the next 19 points of the set. Clark and WNE would go back and forth on points through the 25-point set victory, needing extra points to win by two. Clark had two opportunities for set points before being denied by Alissa Hawes and Elizbeth Long on kills to keep WNE in the match. Becca Mayer would serve an ace and get an attacking error by the Cougars, taking the second set 29-27.

Clark would take the early 4-0 lead in the first set, with Western New England responding and taking their first lead of the match at 14-13 when Yemayma Molina cracked a kill. Clark would respond from there and grab four straight points to take a 17-14 lead, and would never lose the lead from there, finishing up the third set with a 25-21 win.

The blue and gold would fight in the fourth set, though they would ultimately fall 25-21 in the set, falling 3-1 in the match to the Cougars. In the fourth set, Western New England would go back and forth with Clark until the Cougars came around with six of seven points in the set to take an 11-7 lead. Western New England would get within two points of a tie twice, though they would not be able to mount the comeback on Clark, falling in the fourth set and falling in the match by a final score of 3-1. WNE recorded 14 kills, though they had eight errors in the final set.

Inside the Lines:

• Alissa Hawes recorded 35 kills between the two matches, leading all Golden Bears. Hawes now has 146 kills on the season.
• As a team, WNE hit.183% in the loss against Salve Regina and.191% in the loss against Clark.
• Hailey Sell recorded 72 assists in the two matches and has recorded 211 assists this season.
• WNE falls to 8-11 all-time against Salve Regina and 1-6 all-time against Clark University.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England hosts the University of Hartford on Wednesday, October 4, at 7:00 PM.