Western volleyball stays unbeaten at home with 3-0 win over CCNY
DANBURY, CT (Sep. 24) — The Western Connecticut State University volleyball team claimed its second victory of the day to remained unbeaten at home in 2011 with a 3-0 win over City College of New York at Feldman Arena Saturday afternoon.
Western took an early 9-2 lead in game one behind the hitting of senior Michelle Hearns (Bedford Hills, NY), but CCNY fought back to draw within one at 10-9. A kill by sophomore Melanie Lombardi (Danbury, CT) and an ace by senior Kelley Collins (Massapequa, NY) helped push the margin to 16-11, prompting a CCNY timeout. The break did little to slow the Colonial’s momentum as Western outscored the Beavers 9-3 down the stretch, including a game-ending kill by Hearns, to win 25-14.
The Colonial lead in game two was 8-1 when CCNY called timeout, but again the break seemed to energize Western as the lead grew to 16-1. CCNY went on a brief two-point run, but Western cruised to a 25-11 victory in game two.
The Beavers turned the tables on Western to start game three, taking leads of 5-2 and 12-7 before the Colonials regrouped to draw even at 14-14 after a kill by junior Paxton Thornton (Sharon, CT). Western appeared to take control of the game, moving out to a 22-17 lead, but CCNY kept its focus and pushed the game to overtime when Zuleyka Polanco (Bronx, NY) blasted a kill at match-point to make the score 24-24. Kills by Lombardi, freshman Jennifer Hogan (Franklin Square, NY), and freshman Heather Williams (Kingston, NY) gave three of the next four points to the Colonials, closing out a 27-25 win and 3-0 victory for the match.
For the match, Thornton led the Colonials with 15 kills, while Hogan handed out 33 assists to go with 12 digs. Collins added 10 digs and four aces, while freshman Nina Wojtkiewicz (Griswold, CT) made six digs. For CCNY, Dalliana Toussaint (Brooklyn, NY) led with nine kills, Sophia Palumbo (Staten Island, NY) had 17 assists, and Polanco made 22 digs.
With the win, Western moves to 11-2 on the season, while City College of New York falls to 1-12. The Colonials next match will be on Wednesday, September 28th, when they travel to play Wesleyan. Game time is slated for 7:00pm.
Western - 25 25 27 - 3
CCNY - 14 11 25 - 0
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