Volleyball wraps up undefeated CCC season with win over Western New England

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball clinched the top seed in next week's Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-23) win over Western New England University Tuesday evening.

The victory for Roger Williams gives the Hawks a perfect 8-0 record in the conference matches during the season. This marks RWU's first undefeated conference season since 2011.

In the opening set, the Hawks scored the first two points of the set, kicking off 10-5 run to begin the match. Roger Williams led wire-to-wire in the set, thanks in large part to miscues by Western New England. In the game, the Golden Bears committed seven hitting errors, two ball handling errors, two reception errors, and one serving error. The Hawks closed out the set on a 7-2 run capped off by a Brittany McMullen (Lancaster, Pa.) kill to win the game 25-13.

Western New England fared better in the second set. After RWU scored the first three points of the set, Kelsey Armstrong (Groton, Conn.) later notched a kill to give WNE its first lead of the match (4-4). Both teams battled back and forth, eventually tying the set at nine apiece. Elizabeth Flaherty (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) put away a point that helped kick off a 10-4 run to give RWU a six point lead. WNE pulled as close as three, but the Hawks would eventually take the set 25-19 on a Golden Bear hitting error.

The third set saw Western New England get back into the match and dominate early on. RWU scored the first point on a Kristen Boyer (Ephrata, Pa.) service ace, but the Golden Bears would take the next five points en route to a 10-4 lead. WNE's Carolyn Hajdusek (Northfield, N.H.) spiked a point to put the Golden Bears on top 15-7, their largest lead of the match.

After a Hawk timeout, Roger Williams began to erase the deficit, using timely hitting an WNE errors. A blocking error by WNE capped off an 8-2 run by Roger Williams to tie the match at seven and force a timeout. Roger Williams would maintain its momentum and the lead. The Golden Bears came close to forcing a fourth set with the Hawks leading 24-23, but a Boyer kill clinched the match for RWU.

Flaherty finished with a double-double for RWU, going for 15 kills and 13 digs. Maria Batas (Merrick, N.Y.) led RWU with 15 digs, with Josalyn Benson (Phoenix, Ariz.) adding 29 assists and nine digs. Boyer contributed ten kills, three aces, and nine digs.

Hajdusek and Olivia Lathrop (Farmington, Conn.) led WNE with six kills each, with Lathrop adding three block assists. Jessica Sincero had a team-high 19 assists, while Grace Kucharski finished with a match-high 16 digs.

Roger Williams (20-5, 8-0 CCC) receives a first-round bye in the CCC Tournament will host the CCC Semifinals on Thursday, November 6. Western New England (18-11, 6-1 CCC) closes out the regular season Thursday at home against Endicott.

Print Friendly Version