Women’s Volleyball Falls To Westfield State, 3-0
CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College senior middle hitter
Melissa Clark (Chicopee, Mass.) downed a team-high
six kills, but a 15-kill, six-ace effort from Westfield State
University's Rachel Ryan (Westborough,
Mass.) helped spark the Owls to a 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-20)
victory over the Blazers in Tuesday evening's non-conference
women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.
With the loss, Elms falls to 2-5 on the season, while Westfield State improves to 5-4 overall.
Trailing 2-0 in the contest thanks to a fast start from Westfield State, Elms stormed out of the gate in the third set, staking a 5-0 lead on the strength of a Clark kill and a service ace by freshman setter Ashley Fuller (Amherst, Mass.). The Blazers maintained a slim edge until the Owls evened the frame at 11-11.
The sides played to six more ties in the set with neither team gaining more than a two point advantage until the Owls broke a 19-19 stalemate and scored four straight points to post a 23-19 lead capped by a kill from Ryan. A Westfield State service error pulled Elms to within three at 23-20, but a kill from Maura McLaughlin (West Roxbury, Mass.) and a service ace from Kerin DeGirolamo (North Attleboro, Mass.) sealed the set and match for the Owls.
DeGirolamo handed out a match-best 25 assists in the winning effort for Westfield State, while Kayleigh Shea (Chelmsford, Mass.) totaled a match-high 11 digs.
As a team, the Owls floored 14 aces including three each from DeGirolamo and Shea in addition to Ryan's six.
For the Blazers, junior outside hitter Stacy Croteau (Agawam, Mass.) and sophomore outside hitter Christina Martin (Chicopee, Mass.) downed three kills each, while Fuller notched 11 assists and a team-high eight digs.
Elms returns to action on Friday, Sept. 17 at the Vassar College Invitational in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The Blazers will square off against host Vassar at 4:00 p.m.
