DUDLEY, Mass. (October 7, 2026) – The Western New England University women's volleyball team opened Wednesday night's Conference of New England match with a first-set victory before Nichols College responded by taking the final three sets, defeating the Golden Bears 3-1 inside the Nichols Athletic Center. Western New England took the opener 25-22 before the Bison answered with wins of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-13.

Records:
Western New England: 3-12 (0-3 CNE)
Nichols College: 3-13 (1-3 CNE) 

How It Happened:

Set One – Western New England 25, Nichols 22

• The opening set went back and forth early, with neither side able to create much separation.
• Nichols moved ahead 14-12 before Western New England put together the first major run of the match.
• Léa Barber delivered a kill to cut the deficit to one before Ellie Ross followed with a kill to tie the set at 14-14.
• Ross remained at the service line as the Golden Bears continued their run. Three Nichols attack errors and a Ross service ace helped Western New England score six consecutive points and turn a 14-12 deficit into an 18-14 advantage.
• Nichols ended the run, but Katie Garland answered with a kill to give the Golden Bears a 19-15 lead.
• The Bison trimmed the WNE advantage to 19-18 before Charlei Henkel put down a kill. A Nichols setting error and attack error followed, pushing the Golden Bears back ahead 22-18.
• Morgan Bonin's kill made it 23-19 before WNE reached set point at 24-20.
• Nichols fought off two set points, but a service error ended the opener as Western New England took the set 25-22 and a 1-0 match lead.

Set Two – Nichols 25, Western New England 13

• Nichols responded quickly in the second set, scoring the first five points to establish an early advantage.
• Garland and Henkel answered with back-to-back kills for Western New England, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
• The Bison regained control and extended their lead to 10-3 before Barber put down a kill for the Golden Bears.
• Barber added another kill to make it 11-6, but Nichols answered with five consecutive points to open a 16-6 advantage.
• Western New England put together a short run of its own later in the set. A Nichols attack error was followed by a Cassie Durocher service ace, helping the Golden Bears close within 17-10.
• Nichols stopped the WNE push and rebuilt its advantage to 20-10.
• Garland and Bonin each recorded kills down the stretch, while Barber added another kill to bring Western New England to 13 points.
• The Bison ultimately closed out the set 25-13, evening the match at one set apiece. 

Set Three – Nichols 25, Western New England 19

• Western New England came out quickly in the third set as a Henkel kill and Lauren Chagnon service ace gave the Golden Bears an immediate 2-0 advantage.
• After Nichols moved ahead 3-2, Western New England answered with three consecutive kills from Barber, Bonin and Barber again to regain the lead at 5-3.
• Another Nichols error extended the Golden Bears' advantage to 6-3.
• WNE continued to hold the edge through the early portion of the set, moving ahead 9-7 on a Kendra Robayo block before kills from Garland and Henkel gave the Golden Bears an 11-8 advantage.
• Nichols responded and eventually pulled even at 11-11. Bonin answered with a kill for WNE, but the teams continued trading points through a 15-15 tie.
• The Bison began to separate from there, using a 5-0 run to turn the deadlock into a 20-15 lead.
• Barber ended the Nichols run with a kill, but the Bison scored the next three points to extend their advantage to 23-16.
• Western New England continued battling late, getting back within five at 24-19 after a Garland kill.
• Nichols took the next point to close the third set 25-19 and move ahead 2-1 in the match.
• The third was Western New England's best attacking set of the night, as the Golden Bears recorded 11 kills with just three errors on 36 attempts for a .222 hitting percentage.

Set Four – Nichols 25, Western New England 13

• Western New England again started well in the fourth, taking the opening point before an Evelyn Taylor service ace gave the Golden Bears a 2-0 advantage.
• A Barber block and consecutive Nichols errors pushed WNE in front 5-1.
• Kendra Robayo and Madison Stauss helped keep the Golden Bears ahead, with Stauss' kill giving Western New England a 7-3 advantage.
• Nichols began chipping away at the deficit and eventually drew even at 8-8.
• The teams traded points from there, reaching ties at 9-9 and 10-10.
• Nichols scored three straight points to break the 10-10 tie and move ahead 13-10.
• Barber responded with a kill to pull Western New England within 13-11, but the Bison continued to build their advantage.
• Garland later recorded a kill to make it 17-13, but that proved to be Western New England's final point of the match.
• Nichols closed the contest with eight consecutive points. Sofia Novak recorded three service aces during the final stretch as the Bison pulled away.
• Nichols took the fourth set 25-13 to complete the 3-1 victory.

Key Statistics:

• Barber led the Western New England attack with 13 kills while adding 14 digs, one service ace and a solo block.
• Garland finished with six kills, while Bonin and Henkel each recorded five.
• Ross handed out a team-high 17 assists to go with three digs and an ace, while Stauss added nine assists and five digs.
• Defensively, Taylor led the Golden Bears with 17 digs, Henkel collected 16 and Chagnon finished with 10.
• Nichols finished the night with 51 kills and a .197 attack percentage, compared with 33 kills and a .043 hitting percentage for Western New England.
• The Bison also held a 9-5 advantage in service aces, while the Golden Bears edged Nichols in digs, 73-72.

Up Next:
Western New England returns to Springfield for another CNE matchup on Saturday, October 10, when the Golden Bears host Curry College at 2 p.m.