Westfield Topples Keene in Battle of the Owls

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) recorded 13 kills including the game-winning kill in the fourth set as Westfield defeated Keene State (25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 25-10) in a non-conference match on Wednesday night from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

Westfield has now won three of its last four matches, improving to 7-10 on the season. Marina Miller (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) posted a team-high 12 kills for Keene, which drop to 8-11 on the year.

Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) tied Nihill with a game-leading 13 kills for Westfield. WSU was a force at the net throughout the contest as Julia Bartiet (Cheshire, Conn.) tallied six block assists and one solo block while Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) supplied three solo blocks and two block assists.

Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) led Westfield with 23 assists and Chloe Schuld (Sycamore, Ill.) logged a game-high 23 digs.

Alexis Small (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied 31 of KSC's 36 assists on the evening with Miller leading Keene in kills (12) and digs (12).

Trailing 21-16 in the first set, Westfield rallied starting with a kill from Bartiet, then back-to-back service aces from Dangel-Garcia trimmed the Westfield deficit to just two points. An attacking error from Keene, followed by a block from Bartiet and Hanna Nihill capped a five-point scoring run from Westfield to tie the set.

Miller snapped the WSU scoring burst with a kill, but Westfield responded with the final four points of the set, highlighted by consecutive blocks: a solo block from Cummins, then a combination block from Bartiet and Hanna Nihill to close set one with Westfield on top.

Keene closely tailed Westfield for the majority of the second set as a combined block from Molly Wetherbee (Marblehead, Mass.) and Small trimmed the WSU lead to 20-15. A set error from Keene coupled with a kill from Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) opened up a seven-point advantage for Westfield. With WSU ahead 23-17, a kill from Bartiet pushed Westfield to set point before WSU finished another set with a block, this time from Hanna Nihill and Bartiet to take a 2-0 set lead.

The third set began with seven-point scoring runs from both sides as a block from Ashley Sarazin (Londonderry, N.H.) and Colleen Fraser (Vernon, N.J.) forced an Owls timeout. Out of the stoppage, Westfield answered with seven consecutive points of their own with a pair of blocks from Bingham punctuating the run.

Keene then built up a slight lead midway through the set before Miller held off a Westfield sweep, registering two straight kills for Keene to drive the match into a fourth set.

Westfield began the fourth set in emphatic fashion, generating ten of the first 12 points in the set with Bingham gathering a solo block and a kill to give WSU a 10-2 advantage. A kill from Emma Nihill later in the frame extended the Westfield lead into double digits, as Keene would get no closer than nine points for the remainder of the set, sealing an Owls win.

Playing in their first home match since September, 11, Westfield State will remain home for their next match to host Framingham State in a MASCAC game on Friday at 7:00 P.M. from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. Keene State will travel to UMass Dartmouth in a LEC match on Saturday at 1:00 P.M.