BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Kelsey Armstrong (Groton, Conn.) had 11 kills and senior Kasey Cameron (Reading, Mass.) added 10 kills and four service aces to help the Western New England women's volleyball team defeat Wentworth, 3-0, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Tansey Gymnasium.
With the win the Golden Bears won their second straight contest to stand at 18-10 overall and remain undefeated in CCC play at 6-0. The Leopards, playing in their final home match of the 2014 campaign, fall to 13-12 (2-5).
Wentworth grabbed the first point of the afternoon with a block from sophomore Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) and freshman middle hitter Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.). The Leopards capitalized on an attack error to lead 2-0. However, Western New England would strike back with five straight points with sophomore Jenna Luck (Dumont, N.J.) serving for the Golden Bears. Both teams had great play at the net, especially from Leopard sophomore Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) and Golden Bear senior Kendra Ouimette (Conway, Mass.). Western New England made it 24-14 thanks to an unassisted kill from junior Olivia Lathrop (Farmington, Conn.). Shea gave the Leopards hope with a kill to make the score 24-15, but service error ended the first set 25-15.
The Golden Bears opened the second set with three straight points, but Wentworth responded with four of their own to lead 4-3. Both teams went back-and-forth in scoring, but with the score tied at eight, Cameron recorded a service ace to give Western New England a lead they wouldn't lose. Lathrop had big kills at the net throughout the second and lead Western New England to the 25-17 win.
In the third Western New England led from start to finish, opening with six straight points and on a 15-4 run. With the score at 22-11, the Golden Bears wrapped up the match with a kill from freshman Amy Thompson (Schenectady, N.Y.), ace from Ouimette, and finally a solo block from Lathrop to win 25-11.
Senior Carolyn Hajdusek (Northfield, N.H.) had nine kills and hit .615, Lathrop had eight kills and three blocks, sophomore Jessica Sincero (Verplanck, N.Y.) had 22 assists and a pair of blocks, and senior Grace Kucharski (Avon, Conn.) had 16 digs.
Junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) had five kills and 10 digs for the Black & Gold, while freshman Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.) added four kills and seven digs. Nihan and Shea each had two blocks, senior Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) had 16 assists, and classmate Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had 16 digs.
Both teams continue conference play on Tuesday with Wentworth traveling to Gordon and Western New England traveling to Roger Williams in a battle of CCC unbeatens.
