Western New England Sweeps Tri-Match with Volleyball & Colby-Sawyer

Framingham, Mass. – The Western New England University volleyball team swept a non-conference tri-match this afternoon with the Framingham State University Rams and the Colby-Sawyer Chargers by scores of 3-0 and 3-0 at the Athletic Center. Colby-Sawyer defeated the Rams 3-1 in the day's other match.

With the wins, the Golden Bears improve to 5-6 on the year.  With the split, the Chargers are now 3-8 on the season, while the Rams fall to 3-7.

Western New England took the first match of the day defeating the Rams 25-10, 25-15 and 25-17.  The Golden Bears were led by 10 kills and eight digs from sophomore Ashley Matthews (Salem, NH), while senior Alona Kornberg (Fair Lawn, NJ) added eight kills and seven digs.  Sophomore Caitlyn Sibiskie (Rockfall, Conn.) chipped in with 33 assists and 10 defensive digs, while Brianna Roath (Jackson, NJ) added 10 digs.

The Rams were led by seven kills and two digs from freshman Kelly Brinkman (Gardiner, NY), while classmate Michaela Cronin (Hampden, Mass.) added five kills.  Senior Vicki Anderson (Attleboro, Mass.) chipped in with 10 digs, while freshman Morgan Failla (Providence, RI) added 16 assists.

Western New England once again earned a straight set victory in the day's second match defeating Colby-Sawyer by scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-7.  The Golden Bears were led by nine kills and seven digs from senior Sam Heffer (Bethpage, NY), while classmate Emmaline Chiodini (St. Louis, Mo.) added seven kills.  Sibiski chipped in with 26 assists and 10 digs, while Roath added 16 digs.

The Chargers were led by seven kills and two blocks from sophomore Naarah Cox (Boston, Mass.), while junior Courtney Murray (Quincy, Mass.) added four kills and seven digs.  Sophomore Rebecca Staubel (Altamont, NY) recorded 11 defensive digs, while Olivia Goodrich (Epping, NH) added 11 assists.

In the day's final match, the Rams took the opening set 26-24 before the Chargers rattled off three straight by scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-21.  Colby-Sawyer was paced by a match-best 18 kills and 12 digs from Murray, while Cox added 12 kills and three solo blocks.  Goodrich recorded 44 assists and 10 digs, while Morgan Flynn (Reading, Mass.) added 17 digs and four aces.

The Rams were led by 19 digs and two aces from Anderson, while Failla added 19 assists and seven digs.  Cronin led the attack with five kills and two solo blocks, while freshmen Grace Caughey (Mendon, Mass.) and Brandey Rodriguez (Boston, Mass.) added flour kills apiece.

The Rams are idle until next Friday night when they host Fitchburg State in a MASCAC match beginning at 6 p.m. The Chargers host MIT on Tuesday in a non-conference match beginning at 6:30 p.m., while the Golden Bears host Elms on Tuesday at 7 p.m.