WORCESTER -- The WPI volleyball team dropped a pair of matches against Keene State and Western New England on Saturday afternoon at Harrington Auditorium.
The Engineers (3-4) fell 3-0 (19-25, 21-25, 18-25) in their first match of the day with the Owls (5-4) before dropping a 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 19-25) contest against the Golden Bears (8-1) to round out the day. Western New England took the middle match 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 25-17).
Match 1: Keene State 3, WPI 0
Despite a near triple double from
Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA), the Engineers fell in the first game of the day to the Keene State Owls. Eldridge finished the three-set match with 11 kills, 14 assists and nine digs while also adding a pair of aces and a block.
KSU jumped out to a quick 12-5 lead in the first set, using a 9-1 run to turn a one-point deficit into an insurmountable advantage. The Engineers rallied off four-straight points behind the serve of
Taylor Simpson (Ashland, MA) thanks to a pair of kills from Eldridge, one from
Emily Hudson (Melrose, MA) and another from
Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, NJ) to cut into the Owls lead, 17-14. But KSU added another pair of necessary points to the total.
After KSU gained a 20-15 advantage, WPI got within one using a trio of Owl miscues to make it a 20-19 game, but Keene State was able to bounce back and reel off five-straight points to come away with the victory.
The second set was more of a back-and-forth affair as the two teams stayed within reach until a 13-13 tie, midway through the frame. Keene State netted five-straight points to gain an 18-13 advantage, before WPI was able to get within two thanks to a trio of attack errors from the Owls. Ultimately the five-point swing was the difference maker as the Owls netted three points to close out the set, 25-21.
Set No. 3 saw an early 8-2 lead for the Owls behind a 7-0 run. WPI put together a 5-0 run of its own thanks to a pair of kills from
Fiona Gillis (Manchester, NH) and an ace from
Victoria Escuer (Caracas, Venezuela) to cut the deficit to just one, 12-11.
But KSU rallied off a trio of points to give themselves a buffer, and even though the Engineers staved off a pair of match points on kills from Gillis and Kelnik, WPI fell 25-18 in the final set of the match.
Match 2: Western New England 3, Keene State 1
Western New England took home a 3-1 victory over Keene State in game two of the day with the Golden Bears taking sets one, three and four on the day. The two teams battled all afternoon as WNE was led by
Alissa Hawes (Tupelo, MS) who finished with 22 kills and 12 digs on the day while
Lea Barber (Bethany, CT) added 23 digs, 10 kills and a pair of aces and
Taylor Geist (Denver, NC) dishes out 50 helpers on the afternoon. Keene State was paced by
Alexis Small (Londonderry, NH) who finished with 24 assists, seven digs and five aces on the day.
Match 3: WPI 3, Western New England 1
Eldridge finished with yet another double-digit kill performance (11),
Preslie Jerebker (Denver, CO) added 16 assists and 11 digs but the Engineers fell 3-1 to the Golden Bears in the team's second game of the afternoon.
Western New England jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set before WPI used a 5-0 run behind a pair of Golden Bear attack errors and an Escuer ace to make it a 15-12 game advantage WNE. After WNE built back another six-point advantage, WPI got back in the fold but the Golden Bears were able to hold on for the first set victory.
In set number two, the Engineers earned their first set victory of the day with a 25-21 win. After WNE got out to a 3-1 advantage, WPI utilized a 6-0 run to earn a 7-3 lead, but the Golden Bears battled back to a tie and the two teams went back and forth for the rest of the set with a kill from Gillis sealing the victory.
The two teams battled for the remainder of the match, but Western New England was able to eke out the third and fourth set victories en route to the win.
The Engineers are back in action on Tuesday, September 17 when they are back at Harrington Auditorium against Regis College at 6 pm. WNE returns to action on Wednesday, September 18 at 6 pm against Elms College at home while Keene State also returns to action on Wednesday at 7 pm against Rivier College.
WPI-Keene State Box Score
Western New England-Keene State Box Score
WPI- Western New England Box Score
