Western New England University

NEW LONDON, N.H. (September 26, 2026) - The Western New England University women's volleyball team battled the Chargers of Colby-Sawyer College through five sets on Saturday afternoon, but the Chargers came away with a 3-2 victory, behind 59 kills and a .147 hitting percentage in the match to drop the Golden Bears. 

Records:

• Western New England: 3-9
• Colby-Sawyer: 3-10

How It Happened:

Set One: Colby-Sawyer 25, Western New England 22

• Colby-Sawyer took the opening set, 25-22, despite a competitive effort from the Golden Bears. Western New England recorded 10 kills in the frame and hit .114 as the Chargers edged ahead in the match.
• WNE opened the match with three straight points, seeing Charlei Henkel come up with a kill. A run at the midway point of the match for the Chargers saw WNE's 9-8 lead turn into a 13-9 deficit, while the Chargers never looked back and won the opening set, 25-22. 
• WNE hit .114 in the opening set, coming up with ten kills in total. CSC dropped down 12 kills and had seven attacking errors. 

Set Two: Western New England 25, Colby-Sawyer 23

• Western New England responded in the second set, earning a 25-23 decision to even the match at one set apiece. The Golden Bears produced nine kills and committed just one attack error, hitting .258 in their most efficient offensive set of the match.
• The Golden Bears took a 6-2 lead behind back-to-back service aces from Ellie Ross, but the Chargers had an answer to tie the match at six. Points would go back and fourth through the midway point of the match when Colby-Sawyer dropped in four straight points to take an 18-16 lead.
• Western New England closed the second set on a 7-3 run to come up with a 25-23 victory, seeing Brianna Manes pick up a kill to end the set.  

Set Three: Colby-Sawyer 25, Western New England 20

• The Chargers regained the match lead with a 25-20 win in the third set. Western New England recorded 11 kills but was limited by eight attack errors, finishing the frame with a .065 hitting percentage.
• In another close set, the Golden Bears again took the opening lead, seeing Lauren Chagnon drop in a pair of service aces to begin play. The Chargers responded with six straight, to take an 8-4 lead. WNE replied, coming up with five in a row to grab the lead back. Katie Garland dropped down three kills, while Olivia Long contributed one for WNE. 
• With Western New England ahead 20-19, Colby-Sawyer came up with the final six points of the set to stun the Golden Bears, capped off by a pair of service aces from Kamryn Brakemeier. 

Set Four: Western New England 26, Colby-Sawyer 24

• Western New England kept its season-best effort alive with a hard-fought 26-24 victory in the fourth set. The Golden Bears overcame eight attack errors and battled past the Chargers to force a decisive fifth frame.
• WNE had the first three points of the fourth set, all coming on early errors from the Chargers, Charlei Henkel and Brianna Manes continued to dominate the floor for the Golden Bears. 
• The midway point of the match saw Western New England ahead 19-13, put Colby- Sawyer closed the gap with four straight points and five of six overall to trail by a pair, 20-18. The Chargers stormed back to tie the fourth set at 24, but WNE fought through and picked up the next two points, including a kill to close the set from Henkel, giving WNE a 26-24 victory, forcing a fifth set.

Set Five: Colby-Sawyer 15, Western New England 10

• The Chargers took control of the deciding set, closing out the match with a 15-10 win to secure the five-set victory.
• Colby-Sawyer opened the set with three of the first four points before WNE bounced back on a Henkel kill to trail 5-4. The Chargers forced a WNE timeout after dropping the next three points, taking an 8-4 lead. 
• Western New England got back within one twice following an ace from Hilarie Porcaro and a kill from Ellie Ross, trailing 11-10, but the next four points of the set belonged to the Chargers, who dropped the Golden Bears 15-10 in the final set, winning the match 3-2. 
• Western New England finished the fifth set with six kills and a .158 hitting percentage, but Colby-Sawyer's nine kills helped the Chargers seal the match.

Key Performances:

• Western New England finished with 47 kills, led by a 20-kill performance from Charlei Henkel. Henkel also added 20 digs and a service ace.
• The Golden Bears recorded 41 assists, with Madison Stauss leading the way with 23 assists. Stauss also contributed eight digs.
• Western New England totaled 11 service aces and eight total blocks. The Golden Bears finished with 12 block assists and two solo blocks. Morgan Bonin and Ellie Ross picked up four block assists each, while Brianna Manes had two solo blocks and two assisted blocks in the match. 
• WNE hit .118 as a team on Saturday afternoon over 186 attacks. 
• Colby-Sawyer was led by Kamryn Brakemeier, who recorded 21 kills, five service aces, and 10 digs.

Up Next:

• Western New England will host UMass-Boston on Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 PM from the Anthony S. Caprio Alumni Healthful Living Center.