Owls Ace Wildcats for Fourth Straight Match Sweep

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) piled up a game-leading six service aces as Westfield State picked up their fourth straight sweep, this time defeating Bay Path University in straight sets (25-12, 25-19, 25-22) in non-conference action from the Woodward Center on Wednesday night.

The Owls earn a fourth consecutive win to advance to 9-8 overall while the Wildcats are now 6-6 on the season.

Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) led Westfield with 11 kills followed by seven kills from Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Pa.). Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) collected 26 assists, moving to sixth on the all-time career assists list. Zurielys Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico) added 11 digs.

Anastasiya Tsetsko (Horsham, Pa.) led the Wildcats with 11 kills. Zormar Betancourt (San Juan, Puerto Rico) chipped in 17 assists and ten digs to lead in both categories.

Leading 11-9 in set one, the Owls rattled off six straight points capped by an ace from Hill to increase their lead to eight points to pull away.

A similar scoring burst opened a six point lead in set two, with a kill from Hanna Nihill giving the Owls a 20-14 lead. Washkalavitch recorded two kills late, the second one coming on set point.

Tied 7-7 in set three, Hanna Nihill slammed home a kill, then Erica Majka (Agawam, Mass.) took control in the service game, notching three aces to spring a run of six points to push the Owls ahead 13-7. The Wildcats managed to tie the set at 20 but Washkalavitch halted the comeback effort with a kill, then two aces from Shaneidy Hernandez (Springfield, Mass.) distanced the set. Dority sealed the victory with a kill with the Owls now winning 12 consecutive sets dating back to last Wednesday.

Westfield State will face Mount Holyoke College for their next match on the road on Friday at 6:00 P.M.