Volleyball Sweeps Worcester in Regular Season Finale

WESTFIELD, Mass. – An 11-kill effort from junior Lauren Carnes (Westfield, Mass.) guided Westfield State women's volleyball to a win over Worcester State in straight sets in the regular season finale on the road Saturday afternoon.

The Owls sweep completes their regular season record of 15-10 on the season and enter the MASCAC Tournament as the second seed after posting a 7-1 conference mark. The Lancers conclude the regular season at 9-20 overall and will be the fifth seed in the conference tournament with a 4-4 league record.

Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) and Mary Heneghan (Round Rock, Texas) followed Carnes with five kills apiece. Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) distributed 26 assists and added 14 digs while Zurielys Rivera (Caguas, Puerto Rico) also tallied 14 digs.

Westfield was forced to earn every point through the first two sets as both sets were decided by a combined five points. The Owls battled to a 25-22 set one win with Shaneidy Hernandez (Springfield, Mass.) registering a kill to move to set point before a Worcester attacking error completed the opening frame.

In set two, tied at 22, a Lancers attacking error put the Owls in front, then a kill from Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Pa.) increased the tightly contested set to a two-point lead (24-22). Worcester scored the next point, but a service error handed the set to the Owls for a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Owls pulled away in set three with an ace from Washkalavitch followed by a kill from Carnes increased the lead to six points (20-14) their largest lead of the set until a Lancers attacking error sealed a seven-point set victory and sweep for Westfield.

As the 2025 MASCAC regular season concludes the Owls, which received at a first round bye, will host a MASCAC Semifinal game on Thursday at 7:30 P.M. from the Woodward Center against the highest remaining seed from first round games to be played on Tuesday.