SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 2, 2025) – Western New England women's volleyball sophomore Léa Barber and WNE field hockey junior Kayla Antonelli have been recognized as the first Golden Bear Athletes of the Week this season, helping their respective teams to a successful opening weekend on the court and the play field. 

Barber shined for WNE women's volleyball over the weekend at the Mustang Classic at SUNY Morrisville, helping the Golden Bears to a pair of wins in the tournament. Barber opened the season with 11 kills on 32 attacks, hitting .281% from the floor while collecting 13 digs in a five-set match against Alfred State. In WNE's first win of the season over Geneva College (Pa.), the Western New England sophomore put down nine kills, picked up eight digs, and tallied two blocks in the match. Barber continued her excellent play on day two of the event, coming up with a career-high 23 kills on 51 attacks, hitting .294% from the floor in a four-set victory over Thomas College. Léa also picked up 32 digs, also a career-high, for the match. Barber finished the weekend with another double-digit kill performance, picking up ten on 35 attacks against hosting SUNY Morrisville. Barber capped off the weekend with 53 total kills, hitting .214% for the weekend, and added 63 total digs to lead Western New England. The Golden Bears would get out of the weekend winning at least one set in every match and picked up a 2-2 record for the weekend. The Golden Bears will be in action next on Friday, September 5, at 5:00 PM to take on SUNY Oswego at Amherst College. 

Antonelli scored the first goal of the season for the Western New England field hockey team, a goal that ended up being the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Wheaton College (Mass.) on Friday night under the lights of Golden Bear Stadium. Antonelli's first-quarter goal held up as her seventh career goal overall. The Upton, Massachusetts native came up with two total shots for the game while also locking down the midfield position for the blue and gold in the season-opening victory. Antontelli and the Golden Bears will be back in action this Wednesday, September 3, at 7:00 PM to take on Westfield State University at Golden Bear Stadium, looking for their seventh straight win over the Owls in program history.