Westfield State University Sweeps by Women’s Volleyball, 3-0

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College junior middle hitter Rachel Cowan (Ellington, Conn.) and senior outside hitter Christina Martin (Chicopee, Mass.) combined for 11 kills, but Westfield State University used 12 kills by Shannon Shea (Chelmsford, Mass.) and 11 from Julia Warner (Lee, Mass.) to help propel the Owls to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-14) sweep of the Blazers in Tuesday evening's non-conference women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms falls to 0-5 on the season, while Westfield State improves to 1-7 overall with its first win of the 2012 season.

Westfield State setter Stana Wheeler (Sunderland, Mass.) dished out 18 of the team's 32 assists and Carolyn Cote (Chelmsford, Mass.) accounted for 11 helpers as the Owls rode the potent attacking of Warner (.474 hitting percentage) and Shea to victory.

Westfield State, which hit just .232 as a team in the win, was stellar in the third stanza registering a .379 hitting percentage (14K 3E 29TA) in the final frame.

Warner added a match-high 12 digs in the winning effort, while Alyssa Danilow (West Springfield, Mass.) notched three service aces.

Martin notched 10 digs in addition to her team-high six kills for the Blazers, and sophomore libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) added eight in the loss for Elms.

Freshman setter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) amassed 11 of the team's 17 assists, while Cowan served up three aces in defeat.

Elms returns to non-conference action on Friday and Saturday at the Plattsburgh State Tournament. The Blazers will square off against the host Cardinals on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and will take on SUNY Canton at 8:00 p.m. Elms rounds out tournament action on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. against Saint Michael's College.