Worcester, MA- As we get down to the final two weeks of the regular season, the Worcester State Volleyball team (8-15, 4-1) journeys to Westfield State tonight in their rescheduled meeting with the Owls. This game can have pivotal outcomes for postseason seeding, and will lend itself to a high intensity and aggressive game between both squads as each looks for the chance to be one of the top seeds in the conference.
Final
Worcester State: 0
Westfield State: 3
How it Happened:
Quick starts from Worcester would push them out in front early in each of their sets tonight where they led by as much as four points early, but the Owls managed to push their way into each set as they managed to grab a number of large rallies and runs on the day. Trailing 13-11, a pair of errors from Worcester tied the set which would then see the Owls get two quick points for the 15-13 lead. The Owls would then go on to grab seven of the next eight points forcing a timeout from Worcester who responded with four straight points as a block assist from junior Kaitlin Cueva (Tewksbury, Mass.) and junior Kate Sedronsky (Sea Girt, N.J.) tied the match at 18 apiece. The Owls surged back by again scoring seven points in an eight-point stretch with Bingham converting two straight kills to bring the match to a set point. A Worcester attacking error sealed the set one win for Westfield.
In the second set, the Owls were again forced to come from behind after a kill from Cueva gave the Lancers a 17-12 advantage. Worcester was able to expand their lead to four points at 20-16 before Westfield answered with kills and a Worcester error to pull even at 20. After another beneficial Lancer timeout, which saw them regain control, scoring four of the next six points with junior Cassidy D'Esposito (Medford, N.Y.) slamming home a critical kill during the spurt to bring Worcester to set point. But the Owls would not go down quietly as the Lancers were unable to dispatch the Owls as two attacking errors moved the game to a 24-all tie. Worcester had another chance at winning the set after an Owls service error, but Westfield delivered a huge kill to stave off a Worcester set victory and eventually would steal away the second set from Worcester.
The service of the Owls would make the third set the hardest for the Lancers as the Owls in the recorded three straight aces, forcing Worcester to call their second and final timeout of the set with Westfield leading 15-9. The Owls scored two additional points after the timeout, extending the lead to seven points. Worcester would close the gap to as little as four points but with two late kills to win the match for the Owls.
Stedronsky and senior Angela Colonis (Waterford, Conn.) led the Lancers with eight kills each with Colonis adding 13 assists. Senior Megan Bardis (Sterling, Mass.) paced Worcester with 14 assists and first year Katherine Crateau (North Andover, Mass.) collected 16 digs.
What's Next:
The Volleyball team (8-16, 4-2) returns to action next Tuesday when they take a trip north to meet with Keene State. First serve is currently set for 7pm.