Head coach Fred Glanville instructs his players during a timeout at the Elms Blazer Challenge, including tournament MVP Julia Warner, middle, Also pictured are Carole Duquette, left, and Carolyn Cote. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
CHICOPEE – Led by MVP Julia Warner and all-tournament team selection Lindsay Rescott, the Westfield State University volleyball team blanked SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday, Aug. 31, in the Elms College Blazer Challenge at Picknelly Arena.
Westfield State University topped SUNY Cobleskill, 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-15) to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Fighting Tigers move to 2-1 overall. Albertus Magnus outlasted Elms in Satrurday’s other action in the four-team round robin tournament. Elms moves to 0-3 overall, while Albertus Magnus improves to 1-2.
Westfield State 3, SUNY Cobleskill 0
In the opening set, the sides played to seven tie scores but Westfield State never trailed claiming the first set 25-18. The Owls posted a 25-11 score in the second frame to take a 2-0 advantage in the match and survived an 8-0 run by the Fighting Tigers in set three to pull away to a 25-15 third set win and complete the sweep.
Julia Warner (Lee, Mass.) led all hitters with 13 kills while Lindsay Rescott (Northport, N.Y.) followed with 10 kills. Setter Carolyn Cote (Chelmsford, Mass.) dished out 32 assists and paced the Owls to a .293 hitting percentage and also led the team in digs with 10.
Kayleigh Shea (Chelmsford, Mass.) added seven digs, while Casey Doremus (Westford, Mass.) notched eight kills in the winning effort.
SUNY Cobleskill was led by Kady Porterfield (Macdoel, Calif.) who totaled five kills, and Kim Cordova (Oneonta, N.Y.) who notched a team-best 11 digs. Casey Holbert (Sauquoit, N.Y.) handed out eight of the Fighting Tigers’ 11 assists in the loss.
All-Tournament Team
Julia Warner – Westfield State – Tournament MVP
Lindsay Rescott – Westfield State
Amber Baker – SUNY Cobleskill
Katie Yang – SUNY Cobleskill
Melissa Manning – Albertus Magnus
Alyssa Puccilli – Albertus Magnus
Christine Searles – Elms
Albertus Magnus 3, Elms 1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21)
In a match that saw a total of 29 tie scores and 17 lead changes, Elms opened with a 25-20 victory in the first set. The Falcons then won three straight sets to complete a 3-1 victory behind a 10-kill and 11-dig effort from Melissa Manning (Milford, Conn.).
Elms’ junior middle hitter Christine Searles (Tolland, Mass.) led all hitters with 11 kills and hit at a .258 clip, while junior libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) notched a match-best 20 digs and added five kills on eight attempts with zero errors (.625).
Lily Dy (Torrington, Conn.) and Alyssa Puccilli (Milford, Conn.) totaled a team-best 15 digs each, while Dy dished out 23 assists. Caitlin Prete (Milford, Conn.) added 12 digs.
Sophomore setters Kelly Melanson (Waltham, Mass.) and Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) handed out 16 and 15 assists respectively, while junior opposite hitter JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) notched 15 digs.
