NEWTON, Mass. (September 28, 2023) – The Western New England women's volleyball team were defeated by the Lasers of Lasell University for the second time this season, dropping a 11-25, 15-25, 25-20, 11-25 four-set match on Thursday evening.

Records:

• Western New England: 6–5
• Lasell University: 11-1

How it Happened:
The Golden Bears would struggle out of the gate, collecting just two of the first eight points on the night, seeing Lasell take an early 8-2 lead. Western New England would not be able to gain ground after scoring the next three points, watching Lasell's now-three-point lead grow to a ten-point lead after a 7-0 run from the Lasers. Lasell would finish their offensive explosion with the final four points of set one, winning the opening set by a final score of 25-11.

Yemayma Molina would open the second set with a kill as the Golden Bears would take the early 1-0 lead. From there, Lasell would win eight of the next nine points to continue their dominant offense. Western New England would fight back, getting a kill from Leah Warren while using attack errors to get within three points, trailing 12-9. Lasell would have an answer, getting five of the next six points to take a 17-10 lead. Lasell would win the match 25-15, winning six of the final eight points to go up 2-0 on WNE.

Western New England would put together their best set of the night in set three, which earned them a victory, 25-20. The Golden Bears would see Lasell jump out to an early lead before Ava Cariddi would smash one to the floor to even the score at five. The Lasers and Golden Bears exchanged four-point runs, as the Golden Bears would even the score at 12. Western New England would get two kills and a service ace as Leah Warren, Alissa Hawes, and Hailey Sell would help WNE take their first lead late in a set for the first time on the night. Ava Carddi, Rachel Crtiz, and Elizabeth Long would all contribute kills for the Golden Bears down the stretch as the blue and gold grabbed the final five points on the set, winning 25-20.

Lasell would take exception to Western New England's third-set win, cruising to victory in the final set of the match. Western New England would lead in the fourth set just once, when Yemayma Molina came down with a thunderous kill to give WNE the 4-3 lead. From there, Lasell would take 19 of the last 24 points of the match as the WNE offense would quickly stall, while the Lasers would pick back up where they left off in the second set. Lasell would take the final set 25-11, defeating WNE in the match by a final score of 3-1.

Inside the Lines:

• Yemayma Molina led Western New England with seven kills on the night.
• Both Hailey Sell and Taylor Geist would collect 12 assists each to pace WNE in the loss.
• The series between the two teams moves to 3-3 all time.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England remains on the road, playing in a tri-match on Saturday, September 30 at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM, taking on Salve Regina University and Clark University.