Westfield, Mass. – Westfield State lost a pair of games to WPI (25-10, 29-27, 26-24) and Gordon (23-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 11-15) at the WPI Tournament in Worcester, Massachusetts.
In game one against WPI, after dropping the first set by a wide margin, the Owls fought back into the match in sets two and three. In the second set, with the score tied at 27, a kill by WPI junior Maddie Sanborn (Londonderry, N.H.) put the Engineers up one. On the next point, a Westfield State attack error gave WPI the set win. In set three, with the Owls at set point, WPI rallied off three straight points to steal the set and win the match.
Seniors Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) and Shawna Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) led the team with nine kills apiece. Ashley Crowley also recorded two of the four blocks for the Owls in the game. Libero Jess Haradon (Mansfield, Mass.) had a team high 17 digs, while Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) compiled 22 assists.
In game two, after Westfield State narrowly dropped the first set, the Owls held off a late run from the Fighting Scots as first-year Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) provided a set-winning ace to tie the match at one game each. Gordon would answer in set three by winning another tightly contested set. The Owls would respond by scoring seven of the final eleven points in set four to even the match again. In the deciding set, it was a mini three point run by the Fighting Scots that closed out the match, capped off by a game-winning kill by Macie Carroll (Brookfield, Conn.).
Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Ashley Crowley led the team with 12 kills each. Shawna Crowley did a little bit of everything for the Owls, recording double digit kills (10) and digs (10) while also producing seven aces. Bingham added five solo blocks. Haradon led the Owls in digs (19) while Dangel-Garcia totaled 29 assists and 14 digs.
Westfield State (3-16, 2-1 MASCAC) will enter an important week of the season featuring two conference opponents starting with a road match-up at Fitchburg State on Tuesday at 6:00 P.M. The Owls' next home game will be a tri-meet including Bridgewater State and Elms on Homecoming weekend starting at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday at the Woodward Center.