SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Curry College women's volleyball team dropped a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match to Western New England by a score of 3-0 on Wednesday evening. With the loss, the Colonels' record now sits at 10-5 overall with a 0-2 league mark. The Golden Bears improve to 8-10 while moving to an even 1-1 in the CCC.
As the match opened, the teams fought to a 6-6 tie, foreshadowing what was ahead in the first set. Three straight WNE kills followed by a service ace gave the hosts a 10-6 advantage, but the Colonels stayed close, not allowing the Golden Bears to build a lead greater than five, before eventually clawing their way back to a tie at 15-all. After ties at 17-17 and 18-18, Curry pushed forward to a 23-19 edge. However, the Golden Bears rallied to take seven of the next eight points and capped a first-set comeback with a 26-24 score.
Despite looking to rebound from the disappointing loss in the opening frame, the Colonels came out flat in the second set, falling into an early 10-5 deficit. WNE took what their opponents gave them and despite not being able to put together a scoring run of more than four points, still managed to build a 19-9 lead. The Colonels put together a four-point run of their own with Rachel Damstra (Houtson, Texas) at the service line, but the rally was too late, as WNE locked up another set, this time by a score of 25-14.
Curry built a 5-1 lead as set three got underway, but their advantage quickly vanished, as the hosts rattled off six straight and made it 7-5. The Colonels put together a 6-1 run to make the score 11-8 in favor of the visitors, but soon later, the Golden Bears retook the lead at 12-11. A kill by Curry sophomore Lexi Pereira (Attleboro, Mass.) knotted the score at 20, as the tight set continued. The Colonels capitalized on a WNE error and took a 23-21 lead, before getting to set point at 24-23, thanks to a kill by Amanda wood (Tokyo, Japan). However, the Golden Bears still had their eyes set on a sweep and managed to push three points to take the set 26-24 and close the match with their first conference victory of the year.
Taylor Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) topped the hosts with 17 digs while Caitlyn Sibiski (Rockfall, Conn.) turned in a match-high 38 assists. The Golden Bear offense was led by the 16 kills of Ashley Matthews (Salem, N.H.). Pereira recorded 10 kills in the loss while senior Lex Bell (Salem, Conn.) led the team in digs (14) and helpers (15). Caroline Kilduff (Rockland, Mass.) contributed four assisted blocks for the Colonels.
The Colonels will look to get back in the win column when they travel to Gorham, Maine for a tri-match on Saturday, October 5. At 2:00 p.m., Curry will take on Eastern Connecticut State before a 4:00 p.m. tilt with the hosts, Southern Maine. The Golden Bears also return to action on Saturday, as they host the Beacons of UMass Boston at 2:00 p.m.
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