BEVERLY, Mass. (October 26, 2024) – The Western New England women's volleyball team took the opening set in a Conference of New England match on Saturday afternoon at hosting Endicott College, though they would fall short in the final three sets of the match, dropping a 3-1 decision.

Records:

• Western New England: 17-5, 3-3 CNE
• Endicott College: 17-5, 6-0 CNE

How it Happened:

The opening set would be a battle for both teams, as Endicott would take the opening lead 4-1. The CNE's leading attacker, Hadley Helenbrook, would strike down two kills for the Gulls to open the match. Western New England would fire up the next five points, seeing Alissa Hawes record two kills and a block with teammate Isabelle Petty while Becca Mayer earned a service ace, giving the Golden Bears a 6-4 lead. Endicott would roar back with the next three, WNE the next three following, and Endicott the next three after that, as the Gulls had a 10-9 lead at the near midway point of the second set. Western New England would jump out in from 16-15 as Hawes and Yemayma Molina would pick up a block on an Endicott attack. Neither team would take greater than a one-point lead from there, as the two teams would go point for point that saw Hawes, Petty, and Léa Barber collect kills for Western New England. Endicott would get a block with the score tied at 23 to take a 24-23 lead, seeing set point on service. Hawes would combat that, picking up a kill to even the match and a kill to take the lead at 25-24. Western New England would end the first set in style, picking up a Becca Mayer service ace to win the opening frame 26-24, taking a 1-0 match lead. The Golden Bears would hit an astounding .282% from the floor to open the match, picking up 14 kills and just three attacking errors while picking up three service aces.

The Golden Bears would carry their winning momentum into the second set, which saw a 2-0 lead open in favor of WNE when Alissa Hawes and Yemama Molina picked up a block while Léa Barber dropped down a service ace. Western New England's lead would grow to as many as four after Rachel Critz joined the block party for WNE. Laney Melvin continued excellent service that saw WNE stretch out their second set lead. Western New England would lead by as many as five in the second set at 14-9 after Barber collected two straight service aces. The five-point lead would hold at 17-12 after Alissa Hawes would collect a kill. Endicott would have an answer, however, as two kills each from Angelina Fitzharris and Hadley Helenbrook would give the Gulls a 22-20 lead. Western New England would come back and tie the second set at 22, but Endicott grabbed the final three points of the set to take a 25-22 lead and even the match overall at one. Western New England grabbed ten kills in the second set, though Endicott punched down 16 total kills to lead themselves to a second-set victory.

Endicott would ride their momentum into the third set and would come away with an early 9-2 lead on Western New England. Ava Grace Dresbeck and Angelina Fitzharris would lead the way for the Gulls with kills to take the early lead, a lead in which the hosts would end up losing quite quickly. The Golden Bears would not let their slow third set start slow them down, coming away with eight straight points to turn a 12-7 deficit into a 15-12 lead. Isabelle Petty would collect a kill while the Gulls would hit into six straight attacking errors to let the Golden Bears into the lead. Rachel Critz and Yemayma Molina would collect two blocks each in the sequence. The Gulls would fight back, as they always do, getting their lead back and then some. EC would see the Golden Bears begin to push attacking errors into the net while Helenbrook would swipe down a kill. EC's Hannah Maguire would set up Sophie Breitenbach for the Gulls' 23^rd point of the match after an 8-1 run would give the hosts a 23-17 lead. Western New England would not be able to comeback from there, seeing Endicott end the third set with a kill to take it 25-19, now leading the match 2-1.

The Gulls picked up a 4-0 lead to start the fourth set of the match, and their lead would climb to five at 8-3 after a WNE attacking error. The Golden Bears would look to force a fifth set, getting back within one at 8-7 following a service ace from Alissa Hawes. The Gulls did not let Western New England back within two points as the Gulls saw Hawes make a kill to move the match to 15-13, though Endicott would pick up eight of the final ten points in the match, capped off by a kill from Megan Murphy, giving the Gulls a 25-16 fourth set win and 3-1 match victory. Western New England had six kills and six errors in the fourth set while Endicott punched down 16 kills, hitting .250%.

Inside the Lines:

• As a team, the Golden Bears collected 38 kills while hitting . 120% for the match. Endicott threw down 61 total kills, hitting . 194%.
• Alissa Hawes was the lone Golden Bear in double figures in kills on the afternoon, picking up 14. Taylor Geist notched 26 assists for Western New England.
• Endicott's Hadley Helenbrook ripped down 21 kills while also picking up two service aces.
• WNE's first set proved to be their best on the afternoon, collecting 14 kills and attacking .275%.
• Western New England did pick up nine service aces and nine blocks in the match. Yemayma Molina led WNE with six block assists.

Coaches Corner:

• When asked about what his team will look to improve upon, Head Coach Matt Lein commented, "I think it's just going to be continuing to work on the things that were working for us. We changed some things that really worked in sets 1 and 2, then just reverted back to old habits in sets 3 and 4."
• Lein looks forward to the end of the regular season. His team took at least one set so far this season in all 22 matches. The second year head coach commented "I know that this has been a personal goal of mine as a head coach for a long time. I think this just shows how talented our team truly is and that we do have the ability to beat any opponent that we face. I have to give the credit to my senior class. All seven of them contribute in different ways and the four years playing together has really paid off for them in this season."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears head to Higgins Court and Regis College (Mass.) on Tuesday, October 29 for a non-conference tilt.