WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (October 12, 2024) – The Western New England women's volleyball team battled in the first of two matches on the afternoon, though picked up their first five-set win of the season, defeating VTSU Castleton 3-2 before coming around for a sweep of host Eastern Connecticut 3-0 to pick up two wins in the final tri-match of the season. 

Records:

• Western New England: 15-4
• VTSU Castleton: 9-9
• Eastern Connecticut: 11-6

How it Happened: vs. VTSU Castleton

The Golden Bears, coming off their five-set defeat in CNE play against Suffolk this past week, looked to get back in the win column against VTSU Castleton after the Spartans dropped the opener of the tri-match in four sets to host Eastern Connecticut. The Golden Bears would not open with the start they were looking for, falling behind early 7-2. Despite the slow start, Western New England would get within two of Castleton after a block from Leah Warren would get Western New England their seventh point of the match, trailing 9-7. Castleton would fire up five of the next six points, however, taking their largest lead of the match, 14-8. The Golden Bears would attempt to fight back with a kill from Isabelle Petty and a service ace from Deana Baez. Petty and Léa Barber would then pick up back-to-back kills, getting the Spartans lead down to 19-16. VTSU Castleton would get the lead back up to five before Baez and Yemayma Molina picked up kills as the Golden Bears would trail by just one, 23-22. From there, Castleton would pick up the final two points of the opening set, taking a 25-22 victory.

Western New England would rip off the opening four of five points in the second set, getting kills from Isabelle Petty and Alissa Hawes to control the match early, 4-1. Castleton would storm back to tie the match at seven after two straight attacking errors from Western New England. The Golden Bears would not let the Castleton run phase them, grabbing the next three points as Ava Cariddi and Alissa Hawes would contribute for the Golden Bears. Castleton would keep the second set close, erasing Western New England's four-point, 13-9, lead, turning that around into a 17-14 lead in favor of the Spartans. Western New England would take exception to the Castleton run and would score 11 of the final 13 points in the second set to even the match at one. During the run, the Golden Bears picked up kills from Hawes, Petty, and Barber(3), while the Spartans were charged with five attacking errors to put themselves behind. The Golden Bears had 14 kills in the second set to lead the way.

The third et would fall in favor of Castleton, who got behind early as Western New England would take a 3-1 lead after Yemayma Molina and Ava Cariddi would collect kills for WNE while Léa Barber contributed with a service ace. The match would stay tight after another Babrer kill from Deana Baez, though Castleton would collect four straight points from there to take a 12-9 lead. The Spartans would never lose their lead from there, seeing Western New England get back within one at 13-12, though VTSU Castleton would continue their run with four more points to take a 17-12 lead. After being down 22-16, the Golden Bears picked up two straight service aces from Cariddi while Yemayma Molina tossed down a kill from Madison Stauss, getting WNE back within three, 22-19. Castleton would take the next three points, seeing Alondra Rojas collect service aces on the final two points of the match to take a 25-19 victory in the third set and a 2-1 match advantage. Western New England collected just nine kills in the third set while Castleton had 13 while hitting .407%.

Western New England would fight back in a big way in the fourth set, scoring 25 points while Castleton collected just 13. The Golden Bears picked up their first 13 points to take a 13-2 lead on the Spartans. Alissa Hawes would drop an emphatic six kills on the first 13 points of the fourth set to get Western New England going early. Isabelle Petty and Léa Barber would also contribute with kills, as Madison Stauss would set up the Golden Bears nicely in the set. Hawes would continue to dominate from the floor, amassing ten total kills in the fourth set to lead the Golden Bears past the Spartans with ease to force a fifth and final set in the match. Western New England came into the match with an 0-2 record in matches that lasted five sets.

Looking to flip their five set woes, the Golden Bears would see the Spartans jump out front 3-1, getting a kill from both Vanessa LeBrun and Kaitlyn Chapman to lead early. WNE would get the lead for the first time in the set at 4-3 after a block from Isabelle Petty and Alissa Hawes. Castleton would rip off four straight points at an 8-5 deficit to lead 9-8 in the match. The Golden Bears would come back to take the lead on a Léa Barber service ace at 12-11 before Castleton's Chapman would grab yet another kill to even the score at 12. Western New England would then punch out the final three points of the match, getting a service ace from Becca Mayer while Isabelle Petty would pick up the only WNE solo block of the match, an important one, to give Western New England their first five-set victory of the season.

Inside the Lines:

• Led by a 10-kill fourth set, the Golden Bears saw Alissa Hawes notch 22 kills in the match while hitting .362% from the floor overall.
• Léa Barber and Isabelle Petty were also in double figures in kills for Western New England. Barbernotched 14 kills on 47 attacks while collecting 17 digs, while Petty picked up 12 kills on 26 attacks, hitting .423% overall.
• Becca Mayer led Western New England with 35 total digs in the match as Western New England collected 99 total digs in the five-set thriller.
• Deana Baez collected a career high 31 set assists, while teammate Madison Stauss notched 14 set assists, also a career high.
• The Golden Bears were nearly doomed by 15 service errors in the match, though would collect six total blocks to lead the way to a win.

How it Happened (vs. Eastern Connecticut)

Looking to a tri-match sweep, the Golden Bears would see the Warriors of Eastern Connecticut jump out to a quick 2-0 and 4-1 starts. Eastern Connecticut would hold onto their lead until the Golden Bears would pick up five straight points, seeing Alissa Hawes and Isabelle Petty drop down kills while Hawes notched a service ace, giving the Golden Bears their first lead of the game, taking a 9-7 advantage in the opening set. The two teams would keep the match even before Yemayma Molina produced a solo block and then a kill to give WNE a 13-10 lead. WNE's lead continued to climb, seeing Léa Barber and Ava Cariddi come away with points. Seven of nine points would head in WNE's favor, including four straight kills from Hawes (2), Taylor Geist, and Petty to give the Golden Bears a 22-14 lead. Western New England wrapped up the first set in style as Hawes collected another kill to give Western New England a 25-17 victory. Hawes opened the first set with eight kills, while the Golden Bears picked up 15 total kills and hit .297% from the floor in the set.

The second set would also favor Western New England and would get out to a 4-1 start, the reverse of the opening set. Alissa Hawes continued her excellence from the floor, dropping down two early kills. The Golden Bears would keep their lead until Eastern Connecticut would pick up four straight points on service from Emma Robinson as the Warriors would collect a 12-10 lead. From there, Western New England would use their run of seven straight to take their lead back for good in the set. In the run, Becca Mayer's service would lead the way while Hawes would put down two kills and Eastern Connecticut would pick up four errors to give the Golden Bears an 18-13 lead. ECSU would get back into the mach with five straight of their own, though Western New England would hold their own and get service aces from Taylor Geist, a kill from Isabelle Petty, and the final thrown down of the second set from Hawes, who gave Western New England a 25-18 second set victory, taking a 2-0 match lead. Western New England picked up ten kills in the second set as both teams struggled from the floor, relying on their service for points. WNE picked up four total service aces in the second set.

Eastern Connecticut got off to an incredible start in the third set, looking to extend the match on the Golden Bears. The Warriors picked up the opening seven points of the set, seeing kills from Emma Robinson, Bella Johnson, and Taylor Smith with set assists from Liz Squier. Western New England would look to slowly come back on ECSU, picking up four straight after the 7-0 run by the Warriors. Léa Barber would drop a kill and a service ace while Eastern Connecticut picked up two attacking errors to let the Golden Bears back into the match. Eastern's lead got back up to five on a WNE attacking error, though Western New England would complete the comeback to tie the match at ten as Isabelle Petty notched a kill while Taylor Geist picked up a service ace to even the third set. The Golden Bears picked up a three-point edge on a kill from Yemayma Molina, leading Eastern Connecticut 16-13, their largest lead of the set to that point. Molina and Hawes would combine for a stuff at the net that gave the Golden Bears an 18-14 lead while an attacking error from Eastern put Western New England ahead 19-15. ECSU would get right back into the match, scoring the next eight points overall, taking a 21-19 lead. WNE tied the match at 21 after a Molina kill and ECSU error. The two teams would go back and forth as the Golden Bears would hold off set point on a kill from Petty, tying the match at 24. The Warriors were the first to 25 points in the third set, picking up a block on an attacking error from Western New England. Léa Barber would keep the set alive with a kill to tie the match at 25. Eastern Connecticut would have a chance to again close out the set after Emma Robinson collected a kill to give Eastern a 26-25 lead. WNE would get the next two points, a kill from Barber and block from Hawes, entering match point, 27-26. ECSU would pick up the next two points, however, picking up another kill from Bella Johnson to lead 28-27, needing one point to force a fourth set. WNE would have the answer again, seeing Hawes fly high to drop a kill and even the match at 28. Hawes would give Western New England the lead again, 29-28, with another kill. The Golden Bears would be the next point as well, after Eastern Connecticut was charged with a bad set, giving Western New England a 30-28 third set victory, winning the match 3-0.

Inside the Lines:

• In the third set, Western New England would drop 14 kills, as did Eastern Connecticut, though ECSU would collect ten attacking errors to put themselves behind.
• The Golden Bears hit an even .200% from the floor in the match, picking up 39 kills on 110 attacks.
• Alissa Hawes was the only Golden Bear with double-digit kills, totaling 19 for the match and 41 for the two matches combined.
• Taylor Geist picked up 35 set assists and five service aces to help the Golden Bears power their way to victory.
• Becca Mayer (18), Ava Cariddi (14), and Alissa Hawes (12) all recorded double-digit digs.
• Yemayma Molina picked up one solo block and one assisted block overall.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE returns home for their Dig Pink Match on Saturday, October 19 at 2:00 PM to take on the University of New England in CNE play during Golden Bear Weekend.