ONEONTA, N.Y. (August 30, 2024) – The Western New England women's volleyball team opened their 2024 schedule with a win on Friday evening, taking down Utica University at the Red Dragon Invitational, hosted by SUNY Oneonta. WNE scratched off set point twice from the Pioneers and would come back for a four-set victory, winning the match 3-1. 

Records:

• Western New England: 1-0
• Utica University: 0-1

How It Happened:

Alissa Hawes opened the match with Western New England's first kill of the season, coming on an assist from Léa Barber to start a quick 4-1 run that saw Western New England take a lead and hold onto it for the remainder of the set. After Utica would get back within one point of the lead at 4-3, the Golden Bears would put together a stretch run that saw Hawes come away with a kill while Barber and Isabelle Petty would collect two kills of their own to lead the Golden Bears to a 10-3 lead. Becca Mater would contribute with a service ace, while Leah Warren would get on the board with back-to-back kills, putting the Golden Bears ahead by nine. Utica would storm back and get within five, scoring the next four points while picking up eight of the next 11 points in the match to get within four points, 16-12. Western New England would wrap up the opening set by scoring seven of the final nine points, including blocks from Petty and Taylor Geist, while Geist would assist on the final two kills of the evening from Petty, who opened the first set with six Western New England kills to take a 25-15 victory in the opening set.

More of the same came from the Golden Bears in the second set, as was seen in the first set. Despite seeing the Pioneers open with a 3-1 lead, four straight points would lead to a Western New England lead when Hawes delivered a service ace while Warren continued to send spikes down to the floor, earning WNE points. Back-to-back kills for the Golden Bears from Hawes and Geist would help take a three-point lead, 9-6, while the Golden Bears would extend their lead to four twice at the midway point of the second set, seeing Barberhelp WNE. Utica would tie the same at 14, though a late spurt at the end of the second set would see the Golden Bears score nine of the final 12 points in the second set to take a 25-18 victory. Three kills, two from Hawes, and another Petty spike would win WNE the second set. Taylor Geist led the Golden Bears with 13 assists in the second set.

A massive lead for the Golden Bears would be scratched in the third set as the Pioneers would string together late points to steal the third set. The Golden Beards would take an early 8-5 lead in the third set, led by five straight points, including two kills from Yemayma Molina. Utica would come back to take the lead at 10-9 while the Golden Bears would put together a 6-2 run, getting two kills from Hawes and Petty. The Golden Bears took a five-point lead at 22-17, needing just three points to close out the set and the match, though Utica would complete a comeback in the late stages of the third set, grabbing the final eight points to take a 25-22 victory over the Golden Bears to shock Western New England.

The fourth set would go back and forth, point for point, with neither team seeing a lead as large as two points. With the match continuing to go back and forth, the Golden Bears would see Utica grow their lead late in the set, taking a four-point lead at 23-19, just two points away from forcing a fifth and final set of the match. The Golden Bears would fight back and drop off the next five points of the fourth set to take a 24-23 lead, grabbing match point, though Utica would fight off the match point for now, grabbing a kill to even the score at 24. Utica also scored their 25^th point of the fourth set, forcing set point for the first time in the match, though Alissa Hawes would rise up and spike down a kill to hold off the Pioneers. Utica again found the next point of the set to look at set point at 27-26, though Isabelle Petty would smash down a kill to tie the score at 27. The Golden Bears grabbed the 28^th point of the match to grab their second match point of the match and would connect on match point with another Petty kill, winning the match for the Golden Bears, 29-27.

"Izzy (Petty) was nothing short of spectacular tonight" said Western New England Women's Volleyball Head Coach Matt Lein. "I told Taylor (Geist) she's our hot hand at the beginning of the fourth set and she took every chance she got to get her the ball. I'm so proud of our team and bouncing back from a late deficit and fighting off two set points to pull off the win. It was a great way to end our first match and we look forward to the competition tomorrow" quoted Lein.

Inside the Lines:

• Alissa Hawes was in double figures in kills for Western New England, finishing with 16 on the afternoon, a match high. Hawes hit at a .128 clip while picking up 16 digs and two service aces.
• Isabelle Petty dropped 12 kills while committing just two errors for the Golden Bears, hitting .435% to open the season.
• Taylor Geist led Western New England with 42 assists, adding to her career total, which currently sits in the top ten in WNE women's volleyball history. Geist also produced four kills and four digs in the four-set victory.
• WNE tallied 52 kills in the victory while hitting .159% as a team. WNE also recorded one solo block and 15 block assists in the win.
• This is the first meeting between the Golden Bears and Pioneers all-time.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will remain at the Red Dragon Invitational for a doubleheader on Saturday, August 31, beginning at 11:00 AM for a match with Mt. St. Mary University (N.Y.). WNE will then take on the hosts, SUNY Oneonta, at 1:00 PM.