KEENE, N.H. – Sophomores
Jessica Timothy and
Gigi Stake combined for 23 kills while first year
Sarah Bartels added 19 assists, nine digs, and five aces as the Keene State College women's volleyball team posted a 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 21-25, 25-21) victory over Westfield State in their 2023 home opener at Spaulding Gymnasium Tuesday night.
Records
- Keene State: 3-5
- Westfield State: 0-8
Postgame Interview (Coach Weiner)
Postgame Interview (Stephanie Olah)
How It Happened
Still trying to figure out where pieces best fit early in the season, particularly when mixing in a relatively large group of underclassmen, KSC snapped a four-match losing streak by posting a win over Westfield that was sometimes a grind – but ultimately the Owls (from New Hampshire), scored points at important times and ultimately held the visitors to below .100 attacking to prevail. WSU gained the upper hand early in sets on more than one occasion on the evening, including in the first frame when they scored six of eight to open the match and later ran off four in a row for a 12-7 edge. However, out of a timeout – as was a common theme on the evening – Keene State erased that deficit with five straight, and then used for more in a row to take a 17-15 advantage on a kill from
Sarah Bartels, ace from
Reagan Fleming, and a swing from Stake. Stake made it 20-16 a few points later, and KSC ultimately closed it out – though not before Westfield got within one at 24-23 – when her swing ended a 25-23 opening set win.
As mentioned, the story of the first would wind up telling the story of the night. In the second, WSU took a 9-4 edge on an ace by Bridgette McAndrews, ultimately scoring nine of 11 points after KSC scored the initial point of the frame. It was still 12-9 for the visitors a few moments later, but again the home team awakened, taking a 14-12 lead thanks in large part to three aces from
Alexis Small. The lead ultimately ballooned to four before Westfield closed to within 17-16 on two straight aces. Ahead 19-17, KSC returned the ace favor by getting three more from Bartels consecutively as part of four straight that put the Owls up six. They had no trouble from there, closing out a 2-0 match lead on a Westfield attacking error – which was common in the second set, as they hit -.074.
Much like they did in the initial meeting of the season on September 2 played at Springfield College, Westfield avoided a sweep by posting a third set victory in which KSC's only lead was 1-0. The home team surrendered a .281 attack percentage in that frame (the only one WSU was not below .100) and dropped a 25-21 decision. There were seven ties in that frame, six forced by a KSC point, but ultimately the Owls never got over the hump, as after drawing within 17-16 following a 5-0 run, they then allowed seven of the next nine.
Westfield opened a very early 4-1 advantage in the fourth as they looked to force what would have seemed like an improbable deciding frame, but Keene State tallied four straight, and ultimately never trailed again despite WSU again hanging around for a fair amount of the set. Kills from
Stephanie Olah and Wetherbee made it a 12-9 gap, and kills from Timothy and Bartels along with two Westfield miscues made it a five-point KSC lead (17-12), an advantage that was never seriously threatened. A block by Olah and kill from Stake had the Owls in front 20-14, and ultimately Timothy added two more kills to her ledger down the stretch to help wrap up a sorely needed KSC victory.
Timothy finished with a career-best 12 kills and hit .194, while Stake had 11 kills (.087 pct.). Wetherbee had seven kills without an error and hit .438, and Olah had six kills and a .217 percentage. Small had 22 assists. Four Owls had double-digit digs;
Theresa Norris and Fleming 16 each, and Stake and Small 15 each.
Westfield, which made the NCAA tournament after winning the MASCAC last year despite a 4-8 start, has dropped eight straight to open the season. McAndrews had eight kills against only two errors while attacking at a .136 clip and 19 digs to pace the "other" Owls. Sarah Bingham had five spikes.
Service Aces
- KSC had double-digit kills in every set, including 15 in the opening frame (though those did also come with nine errors). Their hitting percentage incrementally increased each frame, going from .109 to .121 to .125 to .128.
- Keene State has won 19 straight in the series and is 13-1 at home all-time vs. Westfield. It was the 38th meeting between the two teams (KSC 30-8).
- KSC is still displaying remarkable offensive balance, with six people having between 41 and 46 kills on the season. Five of them have between 44 and 46.
- The Owls went 9-5 at Spaulding Gymnasium a season ago.
Up Next
- Keene State heads to Boston to take on host Suffolk University (3-5) and Worcester State University (3-4) in a tri-match on Saturday, September 16 at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively.
- Westfield State visits Western New England University (3-4) on Thursday (September 14) for a 7:00 p.m. start. WNE beat Westfield in five sets at Smith College on September 9.
