Box Score BEVERLY, Mass. (November 14, 2024) – The fifth-seeded Western New England women's volleyball team fell 3-1 to top-seeded Endicott College on Thursday night in the Conference of New England Tournament. Despite the loss, senior Alissa Hawes achieved over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her stellar career at WNE, becoming the fifth Golden Bear in program history to record over 1,000 kills and the eighth to reach the millennium mark.

Records:

• No. 5 Western New England: 21-8
• No. 1 Endicott College: 21-7

How it Happened:

Endicott picked up the first kill of the match to open the first set, taking an early lead. WNE's first point came next on a service error from Endicott's Hadley Helenbrook. Western New England and Endicott traded the first six points of the match before the hosting Gulls scored four points in a row to take a 7-3 lead. Yemayma Molina and Taylor Geist scored next for WNE, with Geist setting up Molina for a kill to end the Gulls' run, bringing the score to 7-4. Endicott then extended their lead, reaching a five-point advantage at 10-5 when Stephanie Moreau registered a kill. Western New England responded by closing the gap, scoring three of the next four points as Isabelle Petty and Alissa Hawes combined for a block, and Hawes smashed down a kill, cutting Endicott's lead to two, 11-9. Endicott began to pull ahead again, but Western New England rallied to take their first lead of the match, as Hawes and Petty landed back-to-back kills, and an attacking error by Endicott gave the Golden Bears a 17-16 lead. The kill from Hawes marked the 1,000th in her career, making her the fifth Golden Bear to record 1,000 career kills. WNE's lead did not last long, however, as Endicott initiated a late run after Léa Barber scored a kill for WNE to tie the set at 20. The Gulls then scored the final five points of the opening set to win 25-20, taking a 1-0 lead in the match. Western New England had an excellent hitting performance in the opening set, clipping at .250%, recording 11 kills, although five service errors kept the Golden Bears behind for the remainder of the set.

The Gulls carried their momentum into the second set, quickly establishing an 8-0 lead and scoring 13 straight points overall in the match. Western New England countered with five of the next six points to quickly regain ground. Léa Barber scored a kill, and Endicott committed back-to-back attacking errors, bringing WNE within four points, trailing just 9-5. Barber then added another kill, reducing Endicott's lead to three, 10-7, but the Gulls responded with a new run, pulling ahead by seven points again as the Conference of New England's leading attacker, Hadley Helenbrook, registered two consecutive points, putting Endicott up 15-8. Western New England responded by scoring five consecutive points with Barber serving. Consecutive blocks from Yemayma Molina and Taylor Geist sparked WNE's run, which included a service ace and brought the score to 17-15 in favor of the Gulls. Following an Endicott timeout, the Gulls regrouped and scored three consecutive points, beginning to pull away and ultimately winning another 25-20 set over Western New England, giving them a 2-0 lead. Although Endicott maintained a high hitting percentage in both the first and second sets, Western New England's hitting dropped in the second set, with eight kills on 31 attempts, leading to the set loss.

With their season on the line in the third set, Western New England turned the tables on Endicott, opening the set by scoring eight of the first nine points to take an early 8-1 lead. During this run, Alissa Hawes landed two kills, and Yemayma Molina added another. Becca Mayer played a crucial role in the service game, while Endicott committed four attacking errors early in the third set, helping the Golden Bears establish their lead. Hawes and Isabelle Petty teamed up for a block against an attack from Endicott's Ava Grace Dresback. Western New England held a significant lead at the set's midpoint, reaching their largest lead of the night with a ten-point advantage at 15-5, following another attacking error from the Gulls. Endicott was forced to call a timeout after Western New England made another small run, securing their ten-point lead again, with Taylor Geist picking up a kill to extend WNE's lead to 19-9. WNE held onto their double-digit lead for nearly the rest of the set, with Hawes adding two late kills to help the Golden Bears push the match to a fourth set. Before the set's final point, the Gulls scored five straight points, creating some nervous moments for Western New England. However, a timeout called by WNE allowed for a quick reset, and they won the next point right after, as
Yemayma Molina scored a kill to secure a 25-19 victory for the Golden Bears in the third set. The Golden Bears recorded 11 kills in the third set while adding three service aces overall.

The fourth set of the match opened with two points for Western New England, both in the service game. Endicott served into the net to start, followed by Léa Barber's ace, putting Western New England ahead 2-0. Endicott quickly evened the score at 3-3, including a kill from Helenbrook. The set remained close, with Western New England beginning to pull ahead on three consecutive points—two from Endicott's attacking errors and one from a kill by Ava Cariddi. The Golden Bears' lead reached five when Yemayma Molina delivered a kill, making it 11-6. They maintained this five-point edge at 15-10, following a kill from Isabelle Petty. Endicott then claimed the next four points to close in on the Golden Bears, with Stephanie Moreau contributing three kills out of four points on Hannah McGuire's assists. This cut Western New England's lead to just one, at 15-14. WNE stopped Endicott's run with kills from Hawes and Barber, pushing their lead to 18-15. Endicott, however, took control by securing the next six points, prompting a Western New England timeout. Endicott's Abby Downs notched three consecutive service aces, putting the Gulls up 21-18 and bringing Western New England's season to a critical moment. Despite the timeout, Endicott continued to press, as Helenbrook recorded her team-high 20th kill of the night. The Golden Bears rallied, scoring the next three points with kills from Hawes and Molina to close the gap to 23-22. Yet, Endicott finished the fourth set with two final points, winning 25-22 and taking the match 3-1.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears achieved 12 kills on 28 attacks in the fourth set with a .286% attack percentage, their highest of the match, though it wasn't enough for the win.
• Three consecutive service aces by the Gulls late in the third set secured the match, advancing EC to the CNE Championship.
• Alissa Hawes led Western New England with 14 kills, finishing her career with 1,012. She added one set assist, two blocks, and seven digs.
• Yemayma Molina joined Hawes in double-digit kills, tallying ten with a .238% hitting percentage.
• Taylor Geist recorded 34 assists, bringing her season total to 943.
• Both Isabelle Petty and Léa Barber contributed seven kills each for Western New England's offense.
• Becca Mayer and Léa Barber each had 12 digs to close the season for the Golden Bears.
• WNE fell to Endicott for the third straight time by a 3-1 score, including their second loss of the season on Endicott's home court.
• Western New England exits the CNE tournament in the semifinal round for the fourth consecutive season, the third straight at Endicott's hands. WNE finished the season with a 21-8 record, going 5-4 in CNE play. They played mostly on the road, achieving a 5-3 home record, a 10-5 road record, and a perfect 6-0 in neutral site games.

Coaches Corner:

• When asked to comment on the end of the season and his senior leaders, Western New England Women's Volleyball Head Coach commented "I'm not even sure there are enough words to describe this class. With all of them seeing significant court time this year, they're a huge reason why we have 21 wins on the season. I also think they were great mentors to the 12 players that now need to follow in their footsteps. I know I am going to personally miss them all dearly and so will this program."