BRISTOL, R.I. – The second-seeded Roger Williams University Women's Volleyball team advanced to the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship for the fourth consecutive season with a 3-1 win over sixth-seeded Western New England University Thursday evening. In the process, senior setter Kate Porter (Killingworth, Conn.) collected her 1,000^th  career assist.
 
Hawk Highlights
Kate Porter: 42 assists, 13 digs, 3 kills, 2 service aces, 1 solo block
Katherine Pickard: 21 kills, 12 digs, 3 assists, 1 block assist, 1 service ace
Tori Melanson: kills, digs, assists, solo blocks, block assists, service aces
Jamie Gaffga: 23 digs, 5 assists
 
For The Opponents
Sarah Scott: 13 kills, 15 digs, 2 assists, 2 service aces
Hailey Sell: 22 assists, 4 digs, 1 kill, 2 service aces
Taylor Geist: 18 assists, 2 digs, 1 kill, 3 block assists
Olivia Hall: 10 kills, 4 digs
 
How It Happened
Western New England stunned Roger Williams in the opening game with a strong run halfway through the set. Holding a slim 5-4 advantage, the Golden Bears used a 9-2 run to go up 14-7. The Hawks managed to pull back within three (13-16) but a 5-0 WNE run put them up by eight. Western New England would eventually take the set 25-19.
 
The Hawks would get back on track in the second set, beginning the game on a 7-4 run and forcing a Western New England timeout. WNE would not go away quietly, tying the set at ten then taking a 16-13 lead, forcing a Hawk timeout. After the break, Porter served up a kill to Tori Melanson (North Attleboro, Mass.) for her 1,000^th career assist to make it a 16-18 game. That would help give the Hawks a boost as that point spark a 9-1 run that gave RWU a 25-19 victory.
 
The third set saw WNE stay close to RWU to kick things off. Yet four straight points by the Hawks with the score tied at five helped give RWU momentum. Western New England was unable to tie the match, as RWU kept the Golden Bears at bay. Holding a 13-12 lead, five straight RWU points brought the lead up to six that they would not give up. Another 25-19 win put RWU one set away from the championship berth.
 
The fourth set was tight early on, with RWU not leading by more than three in the beginning. RWU would eventually pull away, taking an 11-7 lead. The Golden Bears would come back and stay within two for most of the remainder of the set. The turning point came with WNE making it 17-19. Roger Williams closed out the match with six consecutive points, capped off by a Katherine Pickard (St. Petersburg, Fla.) kill to send RWU to the title match.
 
What's Next
Roger Williams (11-10): Saturday, November 6 (CCC Championship)
Western New England (12-14): Season Complete