GORHAM, Maine – It was not easy in the end, but Keene State College women's volleyball head coach Bob Weiner reached 600 career coaching victories – 359 with the Owls – as KSC evaded an upset bid by the University of Southern Maine by picking up a 3-2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-12, 18-25, 15-10) victory in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.  The win moves Keene State to within one win over Rhode Island College next Saturday of ensuring no worse than a third place LEC finish, and they could finish as high as second.  The Owls dropped the second match of the day to the University of Maine-Fort Kent (25-19, 25-21, 25-10) 3-0.

Records

• Keene State: 9-14, 5-2 LEC
• Southern Maine: 4-18, 2-5 LEC
• Maine-Fort Kent: 18-4

Quotable
"It was a tough match (against Southern Maine) and I'm glad we pulled it out.  Southern Maine played very well and we had to overcome a lot of what they were doing.  600 means a lot.  It was funny; I was so focused on the ONE win during the fifth set that I didn't even remember the other 599.  The girls started yelling after we won, and it suddenly occurred to me what they were so happy about.  It is a nice milestone.  I love what I do, but those wins are all about the athletes who have played for me over the years." – Keene State head coach Bob Weiner.

How It Happened – Southern Maine
The Owls dominated the first and third sets and outhit the Huskies .271 to .126 in the match, but ultimately had to pull away from a 10-10 tie in a decisive fifth set to shake a desperate opposition on their home floor that was likely playing for their postseason fate.  KSC had four reach double-digit kills, including Sydney Johnson who had 20 (three shy of a career-high) while attacking at a .400 percentage.  Cassidy Samuelson added 13 (.344 pct.) and Gigi Stake 12 kills and 11 digs.  Molly Wetherbee rounded out those in double-figures with 10 and hit .333.  Brianna Delloiacono paced USM with 19 kills, though was held to just .127 hitting to lead Southern Maine, who played seven players in the entire match.

Early on, it seemed it would be a very quick afternoon that would lead to Weiner's milestone win, as the Owls came out and established a 16-6 advantage in kills in the opening set – outhitting USM .406 to .000, but the Huskies offense ocellated back-and-forth between efficient and break-even on kills-to-errors depending on the set.  KSC flew out of the gates, scoring 11 of the first 13 points before then scoring six in a row – five on kills and one on an ace – to open up a 17-5 lead that was never remotely threatened in a 25-16 opening frame win.

Keene State tallied four in a row to take a 10-7 advantage in the second set and eventually led 15-11 after three straight points in different ways as they looked to take firm control of the match.  However, the Huskies responded with a 7-0 burst on four kills, a block, and two aces and took a lead they would never ultimately relinquish.  Kills by Samuelson and Wetherbee tied it but a 5-1 burst by USM on three kills by Drew Johnson brought up set point, which the home team locked up on Delloiacono's swing.
KSC slowed down the Huskies' offense significantly in the third, as they hit only .030 while the Owls connected at a match-high .441 (16 kills, 1 error) while cruising to a 2-1 lead in what was more or less a repeat of what happened in the first.  A kill early from Sydney Johnson had her team in front 6-0, which widened to 12-3 on a swing by Stake.  Those two combined for three spikes in a row later to make it 19-7, and the Owls led by as many as 14 (22-8) in easily winning the set 25-12.

With their first chance to close it out in the fourth set, the Owls came out flat as Southern Maine put together their best showing of the afternoon, hitting .364 and never trailing to force a decisive fifth set.  USM opened on an 8-3 run, but saw KSC twice close to within one at 11-10 and 12-11.  However, as has happened at times this season, the Owls zapped their momentum by serving into the net, and that kicked off a string of four in a row for Southern Maine that gave them a 16-11 lead.  Two kills, two KSC errors, and two aces then accounted for another 6-0 jaunt shortly thereafter that made it 22-13, and the Owls never seriously threatened after that.

The fifth set was a lot like a microcosm of the match.  KSC trailed just once (3-2) and was far better stats-wise, but it took until the very end to shake the stubborn Huskies.  The Owls bounced back from that lone deficit to take a 7-5 lead on a block by Veronica Kroha, which eventually became 9-5 after a USM timeout on an ace and Husky attacking error.  KSC still wasn't in the clear, though, as Southern Maine rattled off five of six to tie it at 10.  Out of a timeout, the Owls finally delivered the knockout punch, getting kills from Kacie Blanchet, Wetherbee, and Johnson to force a timeout from the other side.  Another USM miscue – they hit -.038 in the fifth set – brought up match point, and an ace for Stephanie Olah locked up KSC's win and her coach's milestone.

Blanchet finished with 49 assists and 13 digs.  Reagan Fleming had 32 digs, three shy of her career-best mark set in a five-set win at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth earlier this season.

How It Happened – Maine-Fort Kent
Playing varying lineups, KSC dropped the second match of the day to an unfamiliar opponent that plays an USCAA ( United States Collegiate Athletic Association) schedule and is located in Aroostook County in the far-northern reaches of Maine by the Canadian border.  Maine-Fort Kent pulled away in each of the first two sets 25-19 and 25-21 victories before dominating the third and final set 25-10, not committing an error in the process while hitting .600.  The Owls had just five kills (and two errors) in that frame, hitting .125, and struggled mightily offensively, hitting .059.  Kroha was KSC's leader in kills with five (.375 pct.), but took just eight swings.  Annaliese Rudberg had three spikes on 17 swings (a team-high), while Savannah Soleau and Gigi Stake also had three kills.  Ainsley Hegg had a team-high 10 assists and eight digs, with Blanchet and Fleming seeing very limited action.

Torrie Woods paced the Bengals with nine kills on 11 attacks and made no errors (.818 pct.).  Kayla Iwata and Mylei Moli each had seven spikes, and UMFK as a team hit .259 while having a statistical edge in most every category.

Service Aces

• Weiner, in his 18th season with the Owls, becomes the 16th active Division III women's volleyball coach with 600 career wins and the 54th all-time.  He has 359 of the victories (60 percent) at KSC to go along with 99 at NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce University, 74 at Division I Iona College, 51 at Division III Macalester College, seven at NAIA Montana State University-Northern, and 10 at NCAA Division II Assumption College.
• The Owls are 20-6 all-time vs. USM, 9-2 on the road.  The meeting with Fort Kent was their first.

Up Next

• Keene State closes the regular season with a pair of home contests, including a non-conference matchup with New England College (10-15, 4-1 NECC) on Tuesday, October 25 at 7:00 p.m.  The Owls take on Rhode Island College next Saturday and can lock up a playoff home game of some kind with a win in that matchup.  If KSC wins and Eastern Connecticut State University loses (at home vs. UMass-Dartmouth), the Owls will finish second and host a semifinal on Thursday, November 3 against the No. 3/6 winner.  If the Owls win but the Warriors also win, KSC will finish third and host the No. 6 seed on Tuesday, November 1.  The top six qualify.  Southern Maine, the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and Rhode Island College are all battling for the final spot.
• Southern Maine has a busy final week of the regular season, beginning with a non-conference match against Husson University (11-9, 6-2 LEC) on Tuesday at 7:00.
• Maine-Fort Kent plays Fisher College (19-7) three consecutive times next weekend, including Friday (November 4) at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.