Women's Volleyball's Comeback Falls Just Short to Golden Bears

BOSTON, Mass. – A comeback was nearly completed but fell just short as the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's volleyball team was defeated 3-2 by the Golden Bears of Western New England in the quarterfinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference tournament on Tuesday night.

RECORDS:

• Wentworth (15-10, 7-2 CCC)
• Western New England (17-12, 4-5 CCC)

WENTWORTH STAT LEADERS:

• Kills – Helen Barthe, 14; Ashley Cao, 11; Riley Waggoner, 9
• Assists – Lexi Zabloudil, 35; Ashley Cao, 5
• Aces – Lexi Zabloudil, 3
• Digs – Lexi Zabloudil, 25; Sydney Brooke, 21; Barthe and Cao, 11
• Blocks – Riley Waggoner, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The match struck off well for the Leopards as a kill by sophomore Helen Barthe (Blythewood, S.C.) got the home team ahead 1-0. However, the Golden Bears gained some momentum to later build an 8-3 advantage. Kills by sophomores Ashley Cao (Morrisville, N.C.) and Ema Thompson (Lewiston, Idaho) cut the deficit to 8-7. The Bears took advantage of costly mistakes by Wentworth, building a 21-12 lead. Kills by senior Riley Waggoner (Simi Valley, Calif.) and freshman Riley Schoonmaker (Montgomery, N.Y.) weren't enough to mount a comeback, giving the Bears a 25-16 win and a 1-0 match lead.
• The second set began with back-and-forth kills to bring the score to eight apiece. WNE was able to build a bit of a lead but kills from Cao, Thompson, and Schoonmaker kept the score close at 20-16. Wentworth took advantage of Golden Bear errors, making it a 22-20 deficit. However, WNE's offense ignited for three kills in the last volleys of the set to give the team a 25-20 win and a 2-0 match lead.
• Two kills from Waggoner and a kill from Cao still had the Leopards down 5-3 early in the third set. WNE held their lead but faced stiff competition with kills coming from Barthe and Cao bring the score to 13-12. Two straight kills from Waggoner gave the black and gold a 14-13 lead. The score stuck back-and-forth closely until a kill from Waggoner in gave the Leopards a 25-22 win and now had them behind just 2-1.
• The two teams traded points frequently to start the fourth set. With the score 10-10, the Golden Bears began to build a lead of their own. Two kills from Thompson wouldn't let them get too far ahead, keeping the score at 14-12 WNE. With the set tied at 19 apiece, Barthe ignited the Leopards with a strong kill to put the team ahead. Ahead 23-22, two straight kills from Cao gave the black and gold a 25-22 win and forced a fifth set.
• The Leopards got ahead 7-2 in the fifth set with kills coming from Barthe, Thompson, Waggoner, and Schoonmaker. WNE battled back aggressively, making it a 8-5 set. The score was tied at 9-9 and the Leopards fought back after WNE was ahead 14-11. A kill from sophomore Lexi Zabloudil (London, Ohio) kickstarted other kills from Cao and Barthe to make the score 14-13. However, WNE managed to get the final kill, taking the set 15-13 and winning the match 3-2 to advance to the semifinals of the CCC Tournament.

THE SERIES:

• Today was the 17^th date between the two teams. WNE leads the all-time series, 16-11, and snaps a five-match losing streak against the Leopards with tonight's win.

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