Owls Drop Pair of Games at Springfield Invitational

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State volleyball returned to action at the Springfield Invitational on Saturday morning and afternoon, dropping to Keene State in four sets (25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22) before falling to UMass Boston in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-14) later in the day.

GAME 1 vs Keene State

In set one, Keene found themselves in the driver seat with a 22-15 lead before the Owls stormed back for six unanswered points to cut the Keene lead to one point. Both teams recorded points and with Keene ahead 23-22, a kill from Veronica Kroha (Newtown, Conn.) followed by a service ace from Sarah Bartels (Fort Collins, Colo.) ended set one.

Westfield dropped the second set, but then rebounded in set three with a trio of attack errors from Keene sewing up set three for Westfield. Set four concluded with an attacking error from the Owls, ending the match and game one.

The Owls had a balanced attack in game one with five players generating five or more kills Julia Bartiet (Cheshire, Conn.) and Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) leading the way with seven kills each. Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) piled up 21 digs with Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) tacking on 16 digs.

GAME 2 vs UMass Boston

In game two, the first two sets were decided by a combined seven points. Late in the first set, the Owls mounted a comeback after registering five of six points after back-to-back kills from Bartiet and McAndrews trimmed the Beacons lead to three. Mya Perron (Beverly, Mass.) followed with consecutive kills, then a service error from the Owls gave UMass Boston the opening set win.

In set two, the Owls climbed their way back into the contest after UMass Boston scored the first seven points of the frame. Westfield gained traction during the service game of McAndrews with Lauren Carnes (Westfield, Mass.) and Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) converting kills to trail the Beacons by two points, 15-13. The Owls would get within one point of the Beacons before a Perron kill closed out set two in narrow fashion.

The early stages of set three remained closely contested until a four-point burst from the Beacons separated and ultimately escalated the third set score.

McAndrews led the Owls with seven kills. Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) and Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) accounted for 19 of the team's 20 assists with Hill leading the team with ten digs.   Hill was named to the all-tournament team for her efforts on the weekend.

The Owls (0-3) return to Westfield State for the home opener on Tuesday as the Owls face Coast Guard Academy at 6:00 P.M. from the Woodward Center.