WENHAM, Mass. (November 9, 2024) – The Western New England women's volleyball team came away with a massive Conference of New England victory on Saturday afternoon over the Fighting Scots of Gordon College, seeing the match tied at one after two sets, though the Golden Bears would pick up wins in the third and fourth sets to come away with a 3-1 victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 20-7, 5-4 CNE
• Gordon College: 8-13, 3-6 CNE

How it Happened:

Looking to pull off an upset on Saturday afternoon, the hosting Fighting Scots of Gordon College would come around with the opening point of the match while picking up the first seven of 11 points overall in the match to get off to a strong start over the Golden Bears. WNE would climb back into the match at eight, seeing Léa Barber and Yemyma Molina pick up an ace and a kill, respectively, to help the Golden Bears even the score. Western New England and Gordon would pick up kills one after another, as Annie Murphy for Gordon and Barber for WNE would be electric in the match. Barber's fourth kill of the set would lead WNE to a 17-15 lead. After falling down by one, the Golden Bears picked up the next three points, capped off by a kill from Alissa Hawes to give WNE a 23-21 lead. Gordon would fight back and would see set point at 26-25, though three straight points from the Golden Bears would end the match in favor of the visitors. Taylor Geist dropped in back-to-back kills while Barber finished off the set with her fifth kill to give the Golden Bears a 28-26 open set win. WNE hit .233% in the opening set, dropping 16 kills. Gordon was a tick above WNE at .234%, dropping down 17 kills.

The Fighting Scots opened the second set with a quick 3-0 lead as two attacking errors from the Golden Bears would put the visitors behind early. The Golden Bears would get back within one at 9-8 when Yemyma Molina drained a kill from Taylor Geist. From there, Gordon would go on a 4-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, a lead in which the Fighting Scots would never lose. Gordon would lead by as many as six at two different points and would finish off the second set with a 25-18 victory, picking up a block to end the set. WNE collected 11 kills on their 18 points though saw Gordon pick up a .333% hitting percentage, smashing down 16 kills.

In what turned out to be a massive third set, the Golden Bears picked up a 2-0 lead as Taylor Geist would set the tone with a kill while Alissa Hawes and Isabelle Petty combined for a block. Gordon would tie the match at four though would see Western New England score eight of the next nine points overall to take a commanding 13-5 lead. Laney Melvin picked up a service ace while the Fighting Scots would pick up three attacking errors to set Western New England ahead. WNE would take a double-digit lead at 19-9 when Taylor Geist notched back-to-back service aces and Alissa Hawes flew high for a kill. Gordon would make a run of their own, though it would not be enough as Western New England would put away the Fighting Scots with a 25-21 third-set victory to take a 2-1 match lead. WNE had 13 kills in the third set and hit .219% as a team.

Gordon opened the fourth set with the first two points, though that would not deter the Golden Bears, who came around with six of the next seven points to take a 6-3 lead. Alissa Hawes picked up two kills while Taylor Geist continued to serve well for the blue and gold. Western New England's lead would continue to grow, taking advantage of attacking errors from Gordon. Léa Barber picked up a service ace to give WNE a 15-7 lead while Gordon rattled off the next four points to get right back into the match. The Fighting Scots would take advantage of WNE service and attacking errors to get within two, 19-17. WNE would grow their lead to five again, seeing three straight attacking errors from Gordon to lead 22-17. Gordon would come right back with three kills as Joey Keltner would pick up two of the three, getting Gordon within two again, 22-20. Western New England wrapped up the fourth set and the match by getting the final three points of the set and finished off with a kill from Yemayma Molina, who clinched Western New England a playoff berth, giving WNE a 25-20 fourth set victory and a 3-1 match win.

Inside the Lines:

• The decisive fourth set saw Western New England collect just five kills, though Gordon would make 13 attacking errors to give the Golden Bears the match.
• Léa Barber picked up 11 kills of 43 attacks to lead WNE to victory. Barber also had two set assists, two service aces, three blocks, and eight digs.
• Taylor Geist picked up her first career double-digit number in kills with ten while making just one attacking error, hitting .429% overall. Geist also led WNE with 30 set assists.
• Becca Mayer notched a kill and a team-high 17 digs in the match overall.
• Yemayma Molina had five blocks to go along with six kills on 19 total attacks.
• WNE picks up their second straight victory over Gordon in 3-1 fashion. WNE is 4-1 on their last five against the Fighting Scots.

Coaches Corner:

• When asked about the feeling heading into today's match, Head Coach Matt Lein said it was about a 50/50 split in the team that felt the pressure of the match. "I think there were some that felt the pressure and some didn't. I think we were excited to hold our own fate in our hands. We didn't have to rely on any other situations to come through, win and in, and I think the team really found some relief in that. It was an incredible feeling. Knowing that we fought so hard and we were going to be extending our season. This is something that they've earned and I am just so proud of them."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will be the fifth seed in the Conference of New England tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded Suffolk University on Tuesday, November 12, at 7:00 PM. .