Volleyball Drops Five Set Thriller to Western New England

Framingham, Mass. - The Western New England volleyball team used an 8-1 run in the fifth and deciding set to take a 15-9 victory in the frame and secure a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Framingham State University volleyball team in non-conference action at the Athletic Center.

THE BASICS:

- Score:   Western New England 3, Framingham State 2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 17-25, 15-9)

- Records: Framingham State (1-4), Western New England (3-5)

- Location:  Athletic Center - Framingham, Mass.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• With the fifth set tied at 6-6, the Golden Bears scored eight of the next nine points in the frame taking a 14-7 lead. The Rams rattled off two straight points to cut the gap to 14-9, but a kill from Hailey McDonnell sealed the set and match for the visitors.
• Western New England jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the opening set before the Rams came roaring back tying the frame at 14-14 on a kill from sophomore Brandee Thomas (North Kingstown, RI) and an ace from senior Deirdre Fay (Cornwall, NY).
• The two teams traded points before the frame was locked up at 23-23 and the Rams took the set 25-23 on a pair of errors by the Golden Bears.
• Western New England used a run midway through the second to secure the frame 25-20.  With the score tied at 17-17 in the third, Western New England outscored the Rams 7-4 taking a 24-21 lead before taking the 2-1 lead.
• In the fourth, with the score tied at 11-11, the Rams rattled off a 6-1 run taking a 17-12 lead, but Western New England closed the gap to 18-16.  The Rams scored two straight to regain control and took the set 25-17 forcing the fifth frame.
• The Rams were paced by a team-high 17 kills from Thomas who added six digs and a block. Thomas took 50 swings in the match with just eight errors for a .180 attack percentage.
• Freshman Hailey Sanders (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with nine kills and five blocks, while junior Brandey Rodriguez (Lawrence, Mass.) chipped in with six kills and four solo blocks.
• Freshman Anna Szymanski (Harwinton, Conn.) added eight kills and four digs.
• Sophomore Alyssa Cafarelli (Peoria, AZ) paced the back row with 32 digs in the match, while sophomore Morgan Failla (Providence, RI) and freshman Natalie Reid (North Attleboro, Mass.) added 17 and 14 respectively.
• The Golden Bears were paced by a match-best 20 kills on 62 attempts by Ashley Matthews, who also added seven digs in the match.
• Cassandra Homes added nine kills, three digs and three solo blocks, while McDonnell finished with six kills and 15 digs.
• Emily Musso paced the defense with 22 digs, while Caitlyn Sibiski added 35 set assists and 13 digs with four blocks.

UP NEXT:

The Rams are back in action on Thursday when they travel to Dean for a non-conference match at 6 p.m., while the Golden Bears host Sage on Thursday at 7 p.m.