Box Score WESTFIELD, Mass. –
Sydney Johnson had 10 kills and
Cassidy Samuelson added nine as the Keene State College women's volleyball team had little trouble with Westfield State University in the second of consecutive matches, winning 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-21) at the Woodward Center in non-conference action Wednesday evening.
Records
- Keene State: 4-0
- Westfield State: 0-5
How It Happened
The Owls were in complete command throughout, never trailing by more than one point in any of the three sets and just seven times overall – all early in the first and second frames, ones they ran away to win 25-15 each time. Samuelson's nine kills matched her career mark set in the season-opener against Skidmore, and she has now racked up 24 in the four matches this season while hitting .281.
Emilyann Ashford added eight kills on the evening and continues to be a very efficient and reliable player for the Owls. She hit .400 in the short spring season earlier this year and is at .309 in this year's four matches. Westfield was led by eight kills apiece from Bridgette McAndrews and Olivia Elie.
Keene State led 6-5 early in the opening set, but pulled away quickly thereafter, scoring seven of the next eight points to go in front 13-6 after consecutive kills by Ashford and an ace by
Ali McLoughlin. Westfield was never closer than six after that, and the visiting Owls' lead grew to double-digits for the first time (18-8) after
Kacie Blanchet dialed up a pair of her five aces on the evening. She also had 26 assists. Samuelson's two kills helped KSC later double up Westfield at 24-12 before Sarah Bingham's service error wrapped up the 25-15 set.
The second frame was not much different, as another mid-set rush by KSC opened the flood gates for a win by the exact same score. After Elie's kill for Westfield tied it at six, a spike by Johnson started a 10-2 burst for Keene State that resulted in a 16-8 lead. Kills by Samuelson and Ashford, and a combined block by those two, widened the gap to 20-12 and the Owls were well on their way, winning 25-15 despite hitting just .097 in the set. They held Westfield State to .000 in that frame and .055 for the match. KSC also connected on 14 more kills (38-24).
Although the third set was the closest on the scoreboard, Keene State's only deficit was 4-3, and they immediately erased that with the next two points and never trailed again despite the homestanding Owls hanging around more than they had in the opening two frames. Leading 17-16, KSC went on a brief 5-1 binge behind kills from
Sydney Johnson, Ashford, and
Elizabeth Johnson to open up a five-point lead. Westfield answered with two, but kills from Elizabeth and
Sydney Johnson around Blanchet's fifth ace sent the Owls to 4-0 for the first time since 2017.
Service Aces
- Keene State has won 28 of 36 and 17 straight in the series.
- The Owls have outhit their opponents .222 to .039 in the opening four matches of the season.
- Behind Blanchet, KSC had a 9-1 edge in service aces.
Up Next
- KSC has a strong weekend slate at the MIT Invitational this coming Friday and Saturday, September 10-11. The Owls first take on the host Engineers (4-0; receiving votes) on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. before matchups against No. 20 Bowdoin College (1-0) and Endicott College (3-1; receiving votes) the next day.
- Westfield State takes on Simmons College at the Trinity College Invitational on Friday, September 10 at 5:00 p.m.
