BEVERLY, Mass. (November 9, 2023) – The Western New England women's volleyball team could not overcome a 2-0 deficit in the first two sets of the Commonwealth Coast Conference semifinal match on Thursday night against second-seeded host Endicott College, falling 3-1 to the Gulls, ending the 2023 season for WNE.

Records:

• Western New England: 12-12
• Endicott College: 15-13

How it Happened:
Western New England opened the first set with promise, grabbing the first two points of the match, including an early kill from Yemayma Molina to give the Golden Bears a quick 2-0 lead. From there, it would be all Gulls, as Endicott came away with 25 of the next 34 points to take the opening set. Endicott grabbed a 6-2 lead after three separate attack errors from WNE. Ava Cariddi and Leah Warren would come away with kills, putting WNE down by three at 7-4 before Endicott began to amass a lead that the Golden Bears would be unable to handle. After Isabelle Petty's kill at 14-8 in favor of the hosts, Endicott grabbed the next seven points to put the first set away, as the Gulls took a 25-11 victory in set one.

More of the same took place in the second set as the Golden Bears could not find their footing in the second set, seeing the Gulls pull away quickly. Endicott opened the second set with the first two points before Western New England got a block from Molina to even the score. From there, Endicott would begin to build their large lead, as the Golden Bears would not be able to respond. The Gulls would chip away little by little, going on 3-0 and 4-0 runs to take a ten-point lead at 17-7 before Hailey Sell would set up Yemayma Molina for a kill. The Gulls came away with the next seven points before ending that match, taking the second set 25-9.

The Golden Bears would fight to keep their season alive in the third set, playing their best set of the match. Ava Cariddi and Isabelle Petty would come away with early kills for the Golden Bears to set Western New England ahead. The teams would exchange points, with no team taking more than a two-point lead until the Golden Bears made a run of five in a row to turn a 12-11 Gulls lead into a 16-12 Golden Bears lead. Alissa Hawes came out flying with three straight kills to help pace Western New England. Endicott would tie up the set at 16 and take a one-point lead at 19-18. With their backs against the wall in an elimination game, Western New England would bare down and drop the Gulls by scoring seven of the final nine points in the set to take a 25-21 win.

Endicott came away with the first six of eight points in the fourth set to take an early lead. Four straight attacking errors by Western New England would have the Golden Bears behind quickly. From there, the Golden Bears would not be able to recover, seeing EC control most of the set. Western New England would get within two points at 15-13 when Elizabeth Long threw down a kill before Endicott would take the next three points to take an 18-13 lead. A back-and-forth, point-for-point finish would see Endicott end Western New England's season, taking the fourth set 25-18 to advance to the CCC Championship game.

Inside the Lines:

• Isabelle Petty led Western New England with nine kills on the night, while Elizabeth Long and Yemayma Molina recorded seven each.
• WNE failed to record a service ace in the match while the Gulls notched an astounding 13 through the four sets.
• Endicott hit.271 as a team, led by Stepahnie Moreau, who recorded 12 kills on 22 attacks, hitting.409.
• Taylor Geist led WNE with 16 assists, while Alissa Hawes recorded 16 digs.
• Western New England takes a set from Endicott for the first time since the 2018 season.
• The Golden Bears finish the season with a 12-12 record and a 5-3 record in CCC play.