Box Score SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (September 12, 2024) – The Western New England women's volleyball team was handed their first loss of the 2024 season on Thursday night after the Lyons of Mount Holyoke College swept the Golden Bears in three sets to take the 3-1 victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-1
• Mount Holyoke College: 4-1

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears got behind early on two self-inflected errors, giving the Lyons a 2-0 lead. WNE would pick up the next two points, however, bouncing right back as Leah Warren and Isabelle Petty picked up kills to even the score at two. From there, Mount Holyoke would grab the next four points, getting a kill and picking up points on three WNE errors, taking a 6-2 lead. The Lyons would continue to string points together, leading by as many as ten points, 19-9, after the Golden Bears would see MHC grab four kills to take their big lead. The Lyons would end the first set with a 25-13 win, holding Western New England to their lowest total points in a set this season. WNE had ten errors and ten kills in the opening set.

Each team picked up a point to open the second set, with Alissa Hawes flying high to pick up the point for the Golden Bears. Mount Holyoke would continue to streak and pick up right where they left off in the first set, taking that momentum into the second set as Lucie Berclaz and Sadie Duffrin would team up to lead MHC to a 6-0 run, giving the Lyons a 7-1 lead. Despite picking up two points on errors by Mount Holyoke, Western New England would not be able to gain any momentum seeing Mount Holyoke quickly build a 14-5 lead, getting back-to-back service aces by Amelia Ringer. Western New England would not be able to produce more than two straight points at any point in the set while Mount Holyoke put together another stretch run of five straight points, leading 22-9 over WNE. Hawes and Petty would attempt to rally the Golden Bears, though it would be too late, as Mount Holyoke would again hold the Golden Bears to 13 points, taking the second set by the same score as the first, 25-13. Western New England had a negative hitting percentage in the second set, grabbing that feat for the first time this season. The Golden Bears managed just four kills while picking up six attacking errors.

In what looked like a replica of the first two sets, Mount Holyoke would jump out to an early 2-0 lead, though Western New England would come back and stay ahead in the third set to start. Petty and Hawes would pick up a block, launching Western New England to seven of the next ten points in the match, taking an 8-7 lead. The two teams would battle back-and-forth in the third set while WNE would pick up a two-point lead after Yemayma Molina would pick up a kill on an assist from Taylor Geist while Laney Melvin would collect a service ace, picking up an 11-9 lead. After the Lyons tied the match at 12, both Molina and Geist would combine for a big block while WNE would string together three points from there, aided by a kill from Hawes to give Western New England a 15-12 lead. The Golden Bears would get a spark from Isabelle Petty, who put together WNE's next three points of the third set via kills, with her final kill of the string of points giving the Golden Bears a 19-15 lead. Madaline Barton would get MHC right back into the match, coming away with three straight kills, seeing WNE's four-point lead sink to a one-point lead, 20-19. Western New England would put together the final five of seven points in the third set, led by kills from Molina, Hawes, and Léa Barber, while Petty picked up the final kill, giving the Golden Bears a 25-21 third set victory. Western New England was much more successful in the third set in terms of attacking percentage, picking up 11 kills while only picking up four attacking errors. The Golden Bears collected 26 kills through the first three sets, while the Lyons grabbed 35. 

In the fourth set, a set in which Western New England has seen just twice in their previous six matches this season, the Golden Bears grabbed the quick 1-0 lead, though MHC bounced back to take a 2-1 lead on two mistakes by the Golden Bears. Mount Holyoke would see the better of the play come their way, taking a 10-5 lead. Six kills for the Lyons would lead the way, though Western New England would quickly fight back, picking up four of the next five points, trailing 11-9 as three errors by MHC and a kill by Léa Barber would get the Golden Bears back into the match. From there, the Lyons would string together back-to-back points multiple times, getting their lead to six, 20-14, led by three kills and two service aces. The Golden Bears would pick up five of six points to close Mount Holyoke's gap, as Taylor Geist and Isabelle Petty would pick up two blocks in a row, seeing WNE's five-point deficit quickly turn into a 21-19 deficit. From there, Western New England would be taken back by Mount Holyoke, who churned out three straight points on three WNE errors, getting the fourth set to match point. The Golden Bears would not go down easily, picking up the next three points of the set, seeing two attacking errors cost Mount Holyoke. The Lyons would eventually take down the Golden Bears on the next point, defeating WNE 25-22 in the fourth set and 3-1 in the match. Western New England produced eight kills in the fourth set while committing five errors.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears totaled 130 attacks in the four-set loss, the team's first loss of the season, while throwing down 34 total kills.
• As a team, Western New England hit just over .000%, finishing the night at .069%, their lowest this season.
• Alissa Hawes was again in double figures in kills with ten on the night, while Isabelle Petty contributed nine.
• Becca Mayer grabbed 19 digs, leading the Golden Bears, one behind the match lead.
• Taylor Geist led WNE with 31 set assists in the match. The senior picked up ten digs and four total blocks in the match.
• Madeline Barton led MHC with 18 kills, hitting .196%.
• Western New England was charged with 15 reception errors in the match while the Lyons picked up just four.

Coaches Corner:

• "We have to be better," said Head Coach Matt Lein. "Most of what happened tonight was because we didn't take care of the ball. Not time to hit the panic button but certainly plenty to work on in tomorrow's practice."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England remains on the road to take on WPI and Keene State, hosted by WPI, in a tri-match on Saturday, September 14, beginning at 1:00 PM.