CHICOPEE – The Elms College women’s volleyball squad opened the 2015 Blazer Invitational falling to visiting Westfield State, 3-1 (15-25, 25-18, 14-25, & 13-25), Friday afternoon at Picknelly Arena. The Blazers move to 0-2 on the season, while the Owls (1-0) registered their first win of the 2015 campaign.
CASEY HOWE
The Owls were led by the senior duo of Casey Howe (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Kendyl Haney (Ashland, Mass.), who tallied 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Howe notched a. 368 hitting percentage, while Haney added nine digs. Sophomore setter Courtney Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) served up a game-high 25 assists, while freshman libero Lizzy Taylor (Medfield, Mass.) snared a game-high 22 digs with three service aces.
Blazers freshman Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, N.V.) knocked a team-high nine kills with a block. Senior JC Pickett (Chicopee, Mass.) added six kills with 11 digs, while freshman Rachel Magnuson (Miller Place, N.Y.) had five kills and five digs. Senior setter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) notched her first double-double of the season with a team-high 23 assists and a team-high 17 digs. Senior Alex Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.) and junior Carolyn Campbell (Millers Falls, Mass.) chipped in 13 digs apiece.
In the first set, the Blazers used a kill from sophomore Ashlee Connors (Springfield, Mass.) to cut the Owls lead to 5-3, but Westfield State rallied off an 8-4, featuring a pair of kills from senior Shannon Shea (Chelmsford, Mass.), to pull ahead 13-7. Elms trimmed the lead to 14-9, but Westfield capitalized on three kills from Haney to grab a 19-11 advantage. The Owls closed the set on a 6-4 run, taking advantage of five attack errors by the Blazers, to claim the first set, 25-15.
Elms regrouped in the second set, capturing an early 5-3 lead after back-to-back kills from Pickett and Redding. The Blazers used four errors from the Owls to build a 10-6 advantage. Leading 15-9, Elms used kills from Connors, Redding and Pickett to double up Westfield, 18-9. The Owls mounted a rally with a 9-5 run, but a pair of kills from Pickett closed out the 25-18 win for the Blazers.
The Owls jumped out to an early 7-4 lead in the third set, and then extended their advantage to 11-5 on back-to-back kills from Howe and Shea. Leading 12-7, the Owls rattled off seven straight points to increase their lead to 19-7 until a kill by sophomore Kate Moriarty (Agawam, Mass.) stifled the Westfield run. The Blazers pulled back, sandwiching a Moriarty service ace around four Owls errors to make it a 20-13 game. Westfield kept Elms at bay during the final points, closing out set with a pair of service aces from Howe.
Westfield grabbed a 4-0 lead to open the fourth set, receiving two kills from junior Casey Doremus (Westford, Mass.). Elms got kills from Redding and Magnuson to make it a 6-3 game. The Owls created a gap with six consecutive points, featuring three service aces from Taylor, to pace the Blazers, 17-6. The Blazer cut their deficit to 19-12, but the Owls benefitted from five Elms errors down the stretch, to secure the 25-13 win, sending Westfield State to the 3-1 win.
