GORHAM, Maine (September 20, 2025) – The Western New England women's volleyball team came up with two wins on Saturday afternoon against the Knights of Mt. St. Mary University (N.Y.) and the University of Southern Maine in a tri-match, sweeping the afternoon matches, 3-0 and 3-0. Rachel Critz, Léa Barber, and Charlei Henkel led the offensive attack for the Golden Bears in the two victories. 

Records:

• Western New England: 5-8
• Mt. St. Mary (N.Y.): 4-7
• University of Southern Maine: 3-8

How it Happened: vs. Mt. St. Mary

First Set:

• The Golden Bears got on the board quickly in the opening set, coming up with the first seven points of the match. Leah Warren opened with a kill for WNE, while Léa Barber dropped down three quick kills to open the afternoon. MSM came back with four straight from there, including a service ace from Vanessa Seymour, getting the Knights right back into the match. 
• WNE pulled out seven of the next nine points, quickly jumping back on Mt. St. Mary. Charlei Henkel recorded a kill while Morgan Bonin, Abby Thomas, and Léa Barber all contributed to Western New England's 15-6 lead. 
• MSM did not go quietly, ripping off six points in a row to get back within four, 18-14, but the Golden Bears would bear down and end the set on a pair of errors from MSM, winning the opener 25-17. WNE hit .167% for the opening set, dropping down 12 kills overall. 

Second Set: 

• The first two points belonged to the Golden Bears to begin the set, but the Knights ripped off the next five points, earning their first lead of the match. Western New England quickly replied with the next six, including a pair of kills from Rachel Critz and Léa Barber, leading 8-5. 
• The two teams went back and forth through the midway point of the second set before Mt. St. Mary ripped off five points in a row to take a 16-14 lead and forced a timeout from Western New England. 
• The Golden Bears responded to the timeout and scored ten of the final 14 points of the set to come out with a 2-0 lead in the match. Warren, Barber, and Henkel continued to hit the ball strongly for Western New England, while Abby Thomas would set the WNE attackers up perfectly, as WNE came away with a 25-20 second-set win. 
• WNE hit .212% for the set, coming away with 12 more kills and just five errors. 

Third Set:

• Leah Warren and Evelyn Taylor picked up kills to begin the third set before MSM ripped off four in a row, taking advantage of three attacking errors by the Golden Bears. MSM hung onto a two-point lead at 8-6, getting three straight kills. 
• Western New England bounced back with a pair of kills and a service ace from Morgan Bonin to lead 12-10. The match stayed close, with both teams holding a late lead. 
• Léa Barber's kill from Deana Baez saw match point go in favor of the Golden Bears, but MSM notched the next point to hold off WNE, tying the match at 24. Rachel Critz put down a kill for the Golden Bears to again see match point in favor of the Golden Bears. At 25-24, an attacking error from MSM would finish the match, leading to a 3-0 sweep in favor of Western New England. 

Inside the Lines:

• WNE hit .155% for the opening match of the afternoon. Léa Barber put down 14 kills on 43 attacks, hitting .209% to lead WNE. Barber also had 12 digs for the match. 
• Rachel Critz and Charlei Henkel both had seven kills each, with Critz attacking eight times total, hitting .875%. Henkel also added 17 digs, a match-high. 
• Deana Baez and Abby Thomas were both in double figures in assists for the match, Baez with 16 and Thomas with ten. 

How It Happened: vs. University of Southern Maine

First Set:

• USM collected the opening two points of the match before the Golden Bears took two points on errors for the Huskies, while Léa Barber continued where she left off, putting down a kill, giving WNE a 4-2 lead. USM bounced back and held a 12-9 lead and then again at 17-13 through the midway point of the match, looking to take down the Golden Bears. 
• Southern Maine led by four, 21-17, before WNE would be able to find their offense again with Charlei Henkel and Morgan Bonin contributing with kills and a service ace to pull the Golden Bears back within a point. USM took a 23-21 lead, nearing set point but three straight from WNE, including a pair of aces from Lauren Chagnon, flipped the set in WNE's favor, leading to set point. 
• USM fought off the first set point from WNE but could not do it again as Rachel Critz dropped down a kill and an attacking error from USM proved to be costly, ending the set in favor of the Golden Bears, 26-24, giving WNE a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears hit a ridiculous .480% for the set, dropping down 13 kills and had just one attacking error. 

Second Set:

• Southern Maine opened the second set with five straight points and ten of the first 14 overall to take a 10-4 lead over the Golden Bears. The Huskies' lead continued to extend, leading by as many as seven, 13-6. Despite their big lead, the Huskies could not hold off the Golden Bears, who got right back into the match with five straight points, getting help from Charlei Henkel, who picked up a pair of kills, and Cassie Durocher on service, getting WNE back within two, 13-11.
• Western New England's run continued with five more points in a row to take its first lead of the set. The Huskies were not as sharp offensively in the second set, recording seven attacking errors. WNE led 21-17 and then went to set point at 24-21 following a kill from Rachel Critz. 
• Southern Maine did not go down quietly, however, picking up three straight points to tie the set at 24 and then took a 26-25 lead, but the Golden Bears fought back with a kill and service ace from Charlei Henkel, giving WNE a 28-26 second set victory, leading 2-0 in the match. 
• The Golden Bears notched another 13 kills in set two, hitting .152% from the floor.

Third Set:

• Western New England controlled the third and final set of the match, opening with a block from Adrionne Sharp and Leah Warren, followed by kills from Critz and Barber and a service ace from Lauren Chagnon, giving the blue and gold a quick 6-2 start. The Huskies tied the match at six following four straight points, but the Golden Bears began to take over the set from there to earn the win in the match. 
• WNE found a groove that saw them rip off eight of 11 points, growing their lead to six points, 18-12. Southern Maine attempted to get back into the match, but kills from Abby Krulis and Adrionne Sharp ended the set in favor of the Golden Bears by a final score of 25-19, securing the 3-0 match win. 

Inside the Lines:

• Charlei Henkel put together 12 kills and hit .345% from the floor, notching just two errors to lead the way. Henkel also picked up ten digs and three service aces in the win. 
• WNE hit .256% for the match, a season best. Léa Barber recorded eight kills and just two attacking errors, and Rachel Critz picked up seven kills and only a single attacking error, hitting .600%. 
• Deana Baez added another 18 assists for the match while Abby Thomas totaled 14 of her own. 
• The Golden Bears totaled 13 service aces in the match and picked up five blocks at the net. 

Coach's Corner: 
Head coach Matt Lein answered a couple questions for the Sports Information team after the wins on Saturday. Lein was asked what the clean sweep means for the team going forward and how the team can build on the wins going into a big conference match on Wednesday. Lein replied with, "It just shows that we are playing consistent volleyball. I think for the first time this year we hit the goals we wanted to hit on the stat sheet. I think this was a huge morale booster for us going into a very tough match against Wentworth this week."
Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will open Conference of New England play on the road this coming Wednesday, September 24, at 4:00 PM, taking on the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology. The match will be played at UMass-Boston.