Box Score FRANKLIN, Mass. (October 16, 2025) – The Western New England women's volleyball team breezed through the first two sets of Thursday night's non-conference match against the Bulldogs of Dean College, but saw the hosts roar back and drop in 17 service aces for the match, to reverse sweep the Golden Bears 3-2, picking up just their second win of the season.
Records:
- Western New England: 8-13
- Dean College: 2-13
How it Happened:
First Set:
- Western New England jumped out to a quick start over the Bulldogs, opening with the first four points of the match as Rachel Critz, Morgan Bonin, and Charlei Henkel recorded kills for the blue and gold to get the match started. Dean powered its way back into the match with four of the next six points, including an ace from Maddy Seymour, as WNE held a 6-4 advantage.
- The Bulldogs tied the match at 11 before Western New England responded with a big run, scoring nine of the next 11 points to try to put away the opening set. On the WNE run, Henkel recorded four kills for the Golden Bears while the blue and gold took advantage of five errors from Dean to go up big in the set. Up by eight points, 20-12, the Golden Bears saw the Bulldogs roar back with six straight points, cutting Western New England's lead down to just two again, 20-18. A pair of errors from WNE and two aces from Dean got the home team back into the match.
- Henkel continued her outstanding opening set by getting WNE back on the scoreboard to break the Bulldogs' run. The blue and gold finished the opening set by scoring five of the final seven points, including a kill from Leah Warren, giving the blue and gold a 25-20 opening set win.
- Henkel led Western New England with eight kills and a .313 attack percentage in the set. WNE hit .154 as a team. Deana Baez led the blue and gold with six set assists.
Second Set:
- The two teams exchanged points to begin the set before three straight kills, one each from Bonin, Critz, and Henkel, started a run of four in a row and five out of six for the blue and gold, opening the set with a 6-2 lead. The Golden Bears picked up a service ace from Abby Thomas and extended their lead with three straight attacking errors from Dean, leading 12-4.
- As they did in the first set, the Bulldogs fought back following a timeout, picking up four of the next five points to get back within five, 13-8, but the Golden Bears had a great response following, picking up good service from both Laney Melvin and Katie Garland, taking a 18-9 advantage.
- Western New England took a double-digit lead after putting down five straight points to take a 23-12 lead. Dean dropped in five of the next six points, but the Golden Bears came away with a kill from Abby Krulis, who ended the match in favor of WNE, 25-17.
- The Golden Bears picked up nine kills and hit .200 for the set. Dean attacked under .000, dropping in just five kills and had seven attacking errors.
Third Set:
- The Bulldogs opened the third set with a quick 3-1 lead after two quick errors to open the set from the Golden Bears. The third set stayed close, with neither team able to pull away from one another through the midway point of the set.
- Dean's lead grew to as many as four following four kills in five points as Ariella Sullivan, Mia Cote, Caitlin Cooper and Katie Jones all contributed for the Bulldogs. Leading 13-9 on Western New England, the Golden Bears fought back with eight straight points, getting four kills from Charlei Henkel, and another from Madison Stauss, flipping the lead back into WNE's hands, as the Golden Bears forced a Dean timeout at 17-13. The Bulldogs made the comeback, picking up six of the next eight points to tie the match at 19.
- Morgan Bonin and Rachel Critz dropped in kills for the blue and gold to give the Golden Bears the lead again, but the Bulldogs picked up the next four points, on the brink of winning their first set of the match, leading WNE 23-21. The blue and gold then flipped the match back in their favor following three straight points, a pair of errors from Dean, including a block from Critz and a service ace from Katie Garland, giving WNE match point, 24-23. The Golden Bears could not close out the match, seeing Dean record the next three points of the set to take the set, 26-24, forcing a fourth set.
- WNE collected 13 kills on 42 attacks in the set and also had five blocks. The Golden Bears faltered in their attack in the set, hitting .095 from the floor, producing nine attack errors.
Fourth Set:
- Dean raced out to a quick 6-1 lead to begin the fourth set before Charlei Henkel continued her dominance on the floor with a pair of kills. The Golden Bears got back within two after picking up a run of four of five points, led by a kill from Adrionne Sharp and another ace from Katie Garland, putting the Golden Bears back into the match at 10-8. Western New England took its first lead of the match at 12-11 following another kill from Henkl, forcing a timeout from the Bulldogs.
- Following the timeout from Dean, the Bulldogs began building their lead back, scoring 11 of the next 13 points to take a seven-point lead, their largest of the match, taking a 21-14 advantage. Maddy Seymour guided the Bulldogs with three aces on service. Needing a comeback to close the match, Western New England then scored six of the next seven points, getting back within two, 22-20. Three straight bad sets from Dean allowed the Golden Bears to make a comeback.
- The Bulldogs responded quickly and did not allow the Golden Bears to fully make the comeback, notching three of the final four points of the set to close out the set and forced a fifth set, defeating WNE 25-21. The Bulldogs found their offense in the fourth set, hitting .222, grabbing ten kills and had just two attacking errors. Dean picked up six aces in the set to lead their way to the fifth and decisive set.
Fifth Set:
- Dean began the fifth set with the first four points as the Golden Bears produced a pair of errors before their first point of the set came. Morgan Bonin dropped down a kill and a service aces to quickly cut Dean's lead in half. The Bulldogs rattled off the next three points, expanding their lead to five, 7-2 following another service ace, their 15th of the match. The next three points of the set belonged the Golden Bers, getting back within two again, 7-5, following a kill from Adrionne Sharp and an ace, the 11th of the match for WNE, from Critz.
- In a match full of runs, Dean dropped the next two points of the set, regaining a four-point lead, 9-5 before Charlei Henkel dropped down her 22nd kill of the night to stop the small Dean run. The Bulldogs regained their offensive momentum quickly and finished out the fifth set, shocking Western New England with a reserve sweep, defeating WNE 15-6 in the fifth set and 3-2 in the match.
Inside the Lines:
- Charlei Henkel led Western New England's offense on Thursday night, producing a career-high 22 kills, hitting .207 from the floor. The Centerton, Arkansas native picked up a service ace, a set assist, and ten digs in the match.
- Morgan Bonin notched eight kills and 11 digs for the blue and gold.
- Deana Baez led WNE with 20 set assists.
- Western New England hit .094 for the match, picking up 45 kills on 160 attacks, producing 30 attack errors.
- The Bulldogs were sharp in their service game, dropping in 17 service aces. The Golden Bears ended the match with 11 aces of their own.
- This is the second time this season the Golden Bears have been reversed swept, happening in the first match of the season against Alfred State (8/29).
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears head back out east of Springfield and return to Conference of New England action on Saturday, October 18 at 2:30 PM against Curry College.