Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The trio of Sydney Johnson, Emilyann Ashford, and Cassidy Samuelson combined for 50 kills as the Keene State College volleyball team rolled to wins in six of seven sets Saturday afternoon, defeating the University of New England 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 19-25, 25-14) and Johnson & Wales University (R.I.) 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) at the Wildcat Center.
 
Records

• Keene State:  8-3
• University of New England:  3-6
• Johnson & Wales (R.I.):  4-3

How It Happened – University of New England
The Owls held UNE to .038 hitting, including to more errors than kills (17-16) over the opening two sets, as they mostly cruised to a win in the opener, rebounding from a loss Thursday at New England College.  The Nor'easters controlled most of the third set and actually scored five of the first six in the fourth, but KSC closed the match on a 17-4 run, going from a 10-8 deficit to a commanding 25-14 set win.
 
Keene State took quite a bit of the doubt regarding the outcome away early, scoring the first seven points of the match, two on aces and three on kills.  The lead expanded to 13-2 on two aces by Elizabeth Johnson and a kill by Samuelson, and UNE never got closer than eight in the remainder of the 25-15 opening set.  The second was heading in a similar direction initially, but the Owls then had to overcome a stretch where the Nor'easters scored 10 consecutive points – five on KSC errors – to turn an 8-4 deficit into a 14-8 lead. KSC eventually made their push, scoring eight in a row of their own to get out of a 19-14 hole.   The Owls had three aces in that span.  UNE drew within 22-21, but Keene State took an ugly offensive set that saw the teams combine for 19 kills and 19 errors by scoring three of the final four points.  Keene State made 13 errors in the opening two sets despite winning both, but then had just four miscues over the next two frames.  The Owls made 17 fewer errors than UNE.
 
Sydney Johnson led KSC with eight kills while Ashford and Samuelson had seven.
 
How It Happened – Johnson & Wales (R.I.)
Ashford had an impressive performance, finishing with a team-best 10 kills on .391 hitting, as the Owls swept the Wildcats, who have reached the NCAA tournament in five consecutive seasons including the national quarterfinals in 2017.  Sydney Johnson and Samuelson each added nine as KSC outhit JWU .315 to .175.  Against their last two 2019 NCAA qualifying oppositions (Endicott and Johnson & Wales), Keene State has racked up 80 kills against only 17 attacking errors.
 
The opening two sets played out in similar fashion, with KSC erasing Wildcat leads later in the frames.  In the first, the teams split the first 22 points before Johnson and Wales moved out to a 16-12 lead on three straight kills.  The Owls hit back with three spikes in a row and tacked on four more in a row after that for a 19-16 edge, and eventually still led 22-19 thanks to two kills by Ashford.  The Wildcats got within one (22-21), but KSC scored three of the final four, two on spikes from Johnson.
JWU went ahead 9-5 in the second needing a win to avoid a 2-0 match deficit and were still up 12-10 a short time later, but back came the Owls with a 6-1 run to jump in front 16-13.  Kills by Samuelson and Johnson followed by a block from Ashford and McLoughlin pushed KSC in front 19-15 and forced a Wildcats timeout. The hosts clawed within two twice, the last of which at 24-22, but Elizabeth Johnson finished the frame for the Owls with a spike.
 
Looking for the road sweep, Keene State put up five in a row early in the third to go up 6-2 and never trailed again, holding Johnson and Wales to just nine kills on .086 hitting in the final set.  The Owls hit above .300 in each frame.  Consecutive spikes from Kelsey Harper and Sydney Johnson kept KSC in front 11-6, and despite three in a row for the Wildcats, who eventually got within one, the Owls answered each time.  A pair of kills by Samuelson helped make it 18-13, and swings by Ashford and Johnson found the ground for a 20-14 edge.  KSC's play at the net provided them two in a row on blocks before a JWU error put the Owls up seven with match point.  Masina Tupea, who had 10 kills for the Wildcats, served into the net to end the match.  Peyton Oliver led Johnson and Wales with 11 spikes.
 
Service Aces

• Ashford has double-digit kills in three of the last six matches and 55 overall in that span.  She has a .288 attack percentage this season.
• Kacie Blanchet has 30 or more assists in six of 11 matches in 2021.
• Keene State has won five of seven all-time meetings with UNE and eight of 12 against Johnson & Wales.

Up Next

• The Owls stay on the road, visiting Worcester State University (3-8) on Tuesday, September 21 for a 7:00 p.m. start.
• Johnson & Wales begins a stretch of four consecutive matches on the road at the University of Massachusetts-Boston (3-6) on the same night at 6:00 p.m.
• UNE returns home to take on Wentworth Institute of Technology (7-5) Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.