Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –
Elizabeth Johnson combined for 23 kills and
Sydney Johnson 19 as the Keene State College volleyball team finished a successful first weekend of 2021 by racing past Brandeis University (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) and Westfield State University (25-12, 26-24, 25-16) in a pair of 3-0 sweeps Saturday at Dana Gymnasium on the campus of Springfield College.
Records
- Keene State: 3-0
- Westfield State: 0-3
- Brandeis: 1-2
How It Happened – Brandeis
Keene State picked up right where they left off on Friday evening, as they opened against the University Athletic Association's Judges by recording nine kills without an error (.321 pct.) while rolling to a 25-19 win in the opening set, and the Owls played from in front nearly throughout, thoroughly outhitting Brandeis in all three sets. KSC outhit the Judges .282 to .086 overall and posted 14 block assists (seven total).
Elizabeth Johnson had six of those in a shining performance that also saw her record 14 kills without making an error, hitting a thoroughly impressive .700 in the match.
Sydney Johnson added nine kills, seven digs, three aces, and two block assists, while
Kacie Blanchet put up 31 assists, four aces, and four digs.
Reagan Fleming finished with 18 digs. Lara Verstovsek led Brandeis with 11 kills, but hit .083 on 36 tries. The Judges actually had seven more kills than KSC in the opening set (16-9), but committed nine more errors, and then had just 18 kills while making 15 errors in the final two sets (KSC had 27 and seven, respectively).
How It Happened – Westfield State
Elizabeth and
Sydney Johnson were back for more just hours later, combining for 19 kills against four errors, six aces, and 11 digs as KSC had little trouble against Westfield, establishing themselves right away by building a 9-3 lead early in the opening set. The edge later ballooned to 19-6 after a run of six consecutive points, four on kills from three different people and a pair of aces, and WSU was never closer than 12 after that as KSC took the first frame 25-12. The second proved to be far more challenging, as Westfield tallied 10 of the first 16 points and was later up 17-12 after putting up three more in a row. Down 19-14, Keene State six of the next eight to get back within one. Still, WSU held on for the moment, as a kill by Julia Bartiet made it 23-21 and a service error by KSC brought up set point for Westfield at 24-23, but it never came as they allowed the next three points.
Elizabeth Johnson tied the set and then dialed up an ace to give Keene State a chance to end the set, which they did on
Sara Murphy's ensuing spike.
The third started much the same way, with a feisty Westfield side opening leads of 4-2 and 8-6 in the early-going. KSC hung around, tying the set four times, but WSU still had an answer for the moment, going up 14-12 on a kill and Keene attack error. Those answers dried up in a hurry, as the Owls once again finished a set with a flurry, something they did all weekend in Springfield. An ace by
Ali McLoughlin put KSC in front 15-14, their first lead since 2-1, and that was only the beginning, as they then rattled off nine consecutive points to run away. Keene State had two blocks in that span and got two kills from
Elizabeth Johnson, turning a 15-15 score into a 24-15 KSC edge.
Emilyann Ashford had 17 kills on the weekend while hitting .286 and punctuated the Owls' weekend with a kill as Keene State started 3-0 for the first time since 2018 when they downed SUNY Cortland, D'Youville College, and Wells College.
Service Aces
- KSC hit .236 as a team over the first three matches and held their opponents to a .033 percentage, including twice at .040 or lower.
- Keene State has won the last two meetings and six of the last seven sets against Brandeis. The Owls have also now won 16 straight matches against Westfield.
- Elizabeth Johnson and Fleming were named to the Springfield Invitational All-Tournament Team, joining Ines Grom-Mansenecal from Brandeis, Colleen McAvoy from Endicott College, and Sara Labadorf, Natalie Billet, and Camryn Bancroft (MVP) from host Springfield.
Up Next
- Keene State has a rematch with Westfield State on WSU's home court at the Woodward Center on Wednesday, September 8 at 7:00 p.m. before heading to MIT for three big matches next weekend.
- After wrapping up the Springfield Invitational against Westfield, Brandeis hosts Emerson on Thursday (September 9) for a 6:00 p.m. start.
