BOSTON, MA 11/6/10 – The Keene State College volleyball team fell to UMass Boston 3-1in the Little East Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon. The win gives the Beacons an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament, while the Owls drop to 24-12 on the season and will wait to hear for an at-large bid from the NCAA tournament committee.
"All around this might have been the best we played all year," said head coach Bob Weiner. "They represented Keene State College the way they were supposed to and were in it against a very good UMass Boston team the whole way."
In a tight first set, the Beacons jumped ahead to an early 7-4 lead before Keene quickly cut it down to a one point margin on a kill by junior outside hitter Bridget O'Bryant (Merrimack, NH). UMass Boston would not regain a three point lead again in the set until sophomore setter Frana Burtness-Adams (Fairbanks, AK) delivered a service ace to put the Beacons on top, 17-14. The Owls kept the set close and climbed back to within one at 18-17 on an ace from junior setter Laurie Whalen (Niantic, CT) but the Beacons were able to close out the frame on a 7-4 run fueled behind two kills by sophomore middle hitter Shannon Thompson (Moorpark, CA) to capture the 25-21 first set win.
Keene regrouped and raced out to an 11-3 lead in the second set behind eight consecutive points during the service of Whalen. The Beacons cut the lead to 13-7 and continued to make up ground with junior setter Cassy Hanneman's (Denver, CO) service. UMass rattled off seven straight points to take its first lead of the set at 14-13 and would not relinquish the lead again. The Owls were able to deadlock the frame at 19-19 on a kill by junior middle hitter Ellyse Davis (Londonderry, NH) but the Beacons rolled off three straight points capped by a Thompson's only kill in the set to regain a 23-19 advantage. After the squads traded points, sophomore middle hitter Alexa Sullivan (South Dennis, MA) slammed home her fourth kill of the set to lift the Beacons to the 25-21 victory and take a 2-0 stronghold on the match.
The Owls controlled the majority of the action in the third set, trailing only once when UMass Boston took a 9-8 lead. Keene pushed its lead to 22-17, forcing the Beacons to call a timeout. The hosts had no answers during this set that saw the Owls collect 13 kills (five from Davis) and hit .343 from the floor. A kill by O'Bryant gave the visitors a 25-21 third set triumph and close the match to within a set at 2-1.
To open the fourth set, Hanneman served up a pair of aces as UMass Boston snuck ahead 3-0 early in the frame. They would increase the lead to 7-2 before Keene would go on a 10-5 run to even the match at 12-12. Both teams traded points and were still all square at 14-14 before the Beacons reeled off six unanswered points behind Burtness-Adams' service to take a their biggest lead of the match in any set at 20-14. Coming out of a Keene State time out, a kill by freshman outside hitter Amber Clemons (Simi Valley, CA) made it 23-17, UMass Boston, to push the lead back to six points. Keene answered with a point to pull within five at 23-18 before Thompson slammed down a thunderous kill that brought fans in attendance to their feet for the Championship point. An Owl hitter error secured the 25-18 fourth set victory, landing the Beacons their second consecutive Little East Conference Championship while also extending their home winning streak to 29 matches.
For the Owls, junior Kristen Girard (Tivoli, N.Y.) finished the match with a team-high 10 kills while also registering 15 digs. Davis and O'Bryant recorded nine kills apiece to pace the Keene offensive output while senior libero Jamie Levine (Medfield, MA) played stellar defense throughout the match, notching a match-high 25 digs. Whalen capped the match off with 27 assists while also collecting nine digs and a match-high four aces.
(Courtesy UMass Boston Sports Information)
