SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 7, 2023) – The Western New England women's volleyball team earned a 3-0 win over the visiting Blazers of Elms College on Thursday night as WNE volleyball head coach Matt Lein earned his first win at the helm of the Golden Bears.
Records:
- Western New England: 1-3
- Elms College: 0-5
How it Happened:
The Golden Bears raced out to a quick start leading quickly in the match 14-2 after a 10-0 run would set WNE ahead.
Becca Mayer would take control of the serve during the stretch run for the Golden Bears as WNE would never look back.
Alissa Hawes and
Hailey Sell would collect kills in the run while the Golden Bears would take advantage of multiple Blazers errors in the set to control the match early. WNE would lead by as many as 14 points in the opening set thanks to a
Isabelle Petty and
Leah Warren combined block, followed by an error by the Blazers to lead 19-4. EC would rip off five straight points as they looked to get back in the opening set though Western New England would grab the next four of five possible point while
Hailey Sell turned away the Blazers with the set winning kill to give WNE a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Bears saw Elms grab a quick 2-0 lead in the second set of the contest though five straight serves from
Elizabeth Long would get Western New England a quick 6-2 lead.
Becca Mayer,
Isabelle Petty, and
Yemayma Molina would grab kills for WNE early, though Elms would fight hard in the second set before WNE would go on another stretch run, grabbing five straight points on more serves from
Elizabeth Long.
Ava Cariddi would extend WNE's lead in the set while an ace finished off the five-point swing, getting WNE ahead 17-12. The Golden Bears would close the final set by winning the last four of five possible points, taking a 25-19 victory to go up two sets to none.
In the third and what turned out to be the final set of the night, Western New England would collect the first two points of the set and never trail in the set after
Taylor Geist would get the Golden Bears rolling early. Elms would score consecutive points just twice in the set while Western New England proved to be dominant in the third set to seal the victory.
Leah Warren,
Elizabeth Long,
Yemayma Molina,
Alissa Hawes, and
Ella Soutter would all register kills for WNE in the game winning set while
Elizabeth Long grabbed the game winning kill on a serve by
Laney Melvin to seal the victory for the blue and gold, winning the third set 25-12, defeating Elms College 3-0.
Inside the Lines:
- Western New England hit .204 as a team and collected 33 kills in the victory. The Golden Bears were led by Elizabeth Long who came down with eight kills in the win.
- Long also helped the Golden Bears on the service end as she recorded five service aces. Taylor Geist (3), and Becca Mayer (1) also recorded aces for WNE in the win.
- Isabelle Petty swatted four blocks for the Golden Bears to lead all blockers. Leah Warren and Yemayma Molina also recorded blocks on the night.
- Head Coach Matt Lein earned his first victory for the Golden Bears, sweeping Elms 3-0.
- WNE improves to 9-0 all time against the Blazers, dropping just one set in those nine meetings.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- WNE heads on the road for the weekend, participating in the Bonnie May Invitational, hosted by Smith College on Friday, September 8, and Saturday September 9. WNE will play Lasell University, Elmira College, and Westfield State University during the two day tournament.
