Bears Sail Past Owls, 3-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State women's volleyball team was defeated by the United States Coast Guard Academy in four sets (25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 25-5) on Tuesday, September 5 in the Owls' home opener.

The Bears improve to 4-1 on the season while Westfield falls to 0-4.

Coast Guard was led by Shannon Shaw (Torrance, Col.) and Sophia Galdamez (Cardiniff by Sea, Cal.) who collected 11 and 10 kills respectively. Maeve Duffin (Hawthorne, N.J.) coordinated the offensive attack with 29 assists and led the Bears defense with 10 digs.

After dropping the first two sets, the Owls stormed back in the third. Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass./ Longmeadow) dropped two aces down the home stretch to tie the match at 23 and then stake a one point lead before Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich./ Lakeview) landed the set winning kill. McAndrews led the Owls in kills (nine), digs (14) and aces (four).

Coast Guard left little doubt in the fourth and final set staking an 11-0 advantage and cruising to a 25-5 final. The Bears shortened the bench after getting everyone involved in the third set and used a blistering .519 hitting percentage to put the match away.

Hill chipped in 12 digs in the setback, Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass./ Ashland) had a team-high 12 assists.

Carmen Zipf (Melbourne, Fla.) and Kaela France (Calhan, Col.) each collected four service aces to lead the Bears in the win.

Westfield State heads to the Bonnie May Tournament at Smith College for three matches over the weekend. They open with Redlands College from California on Friday, September 8 at 5:00pm. Coast Guard plays host to the Bear & Camel Invite tournament this weekend opening up with Connecticut College on Friday, September 8 at 6:00pm.