BOSTON, Mass. (October 26, 2023) – Western New England senior libero Brcca Mayer was the star of Thursday's match on the road, recording her 1,000^th dig as a Golden Bear, becoming just the seventh member of the 1,000 dig club as Western New England women's volleyball were downed 3-0 to hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology in CCC play.

Records:

• Western New England: 9-10, 3-2 CCC
• Wentworth Institute: 17-5, 5-0 CCC

How it Happened:
The hosts came out strong and heavy to open the match, grabbing the first six points to go ahead 6-1 while grabbing ten of the first 11 points in the match, taking an early first set lead. Alissa Hawes would get on the board for her first kill of the match to stop Wentorth's run and get Western New England rolling. WNE would come back from ten points down and cut the Leopards lead in half with help from Isabelle Petty, who collected a kill, while WNE saw their deficit shrink to 14–9. The Golden Bears would nearly even the score after Becca Mayer would come away with a service ace while Elizabeth Long notched a kill, making the score 15-14 in favor of the hosts. Wentworth would return to their offensive ways late in the set, taking ten of the final 14 points to defeat WNE 25-18.

The Leopards came out of the gates flying in the second set, taking an early lead on the Golden Bears, 4-0. The blue and gold would never see the lead, despite getting within one point of a tie on multiple occasions. Alissa Hawes came away with kills, while Isabelle Petty and Leah Warren got on the board to lift WNE to a 16-15 deficit. Wentworth would grab the next three points before Western New England attempted to fight back before the Leopards put away the Golden Bears with a kill from Riley Waggoner, giving Wentworth the 25-19 win and 2-0 lead in the match.

Western New England would flip the script in the third set, coming away with an early 5-0 lead on service from Hailey Sell. Elizabeth Long would smash down two kills, while Ella Soutter and Yemayma Molina would help Western New England build an early lead. The lead would be short-lived, however, as Wentworth would make a run of their own to take an 8-7 lead and continue to add to their lead. The Leopards would score nine of 11 points in the stretch run to take a 14-8 lead. WNE's Becca Mayer would come away with her ninth dig of the night, which put her at 1,000 for her extraordinary career with the blue and gold, becoming one of just seven members of the 1,000 dig club in WNE volleyball history. Western New England would fight back in the net, down by five points, cutting the Leopards lead to two, though Wentworth would have the final say in the match, defeating WNE 25-21 to take the three-set sweep. Wentworth would get revenge on the Golden Bears for their defeat a season ago in the CCC playoffs when sixth-seeded WNE defeated third-seeded Wentworth on their home court.

Inside the Lines:

• Becca Mayer recorded nine digs and five assists in the match, becoming a member of the 1,000-dig club.
• As a team, WNE hit at a.088 clip, with Alissa Hawes leading the way, hitting.207 on the night.
• WNE grabbed 33 kills in the match while recording 58 digs.
• Wentworth hit.233 for the match, as Ema Thompson led the Leopards with 12 kills.
• WNE is just 1-7 in their last eight matches with Wentworth.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will host their final three matches of the season, welcoming Gordon College to Springfield on Saturday, October 28 for their Dig Pink match, beginning at 1:00 pm.