Women's Volleyball Falls at Home to Western Connecticut

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) volleyball team fell at home against intrastate foe Western Connecticut State University (WCSU), 3-0, on Tuesday night inside the O'Connell Center in West Hartford.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 0, WCSU 3 (14-25, 18-25, 17-25)
Records: USJ (4-15), WCSU (10-8)
Location: O'Connell Center (West Hartford, Conn.) 

KEY MOMENTS

• The opening set started as a back-and-forth affair, with the two sides playing out a 4-4 tie.
• The Wolves then used a 4-0 stretch to break open an 8-4 edge.
• A WCSU error cut their own momentum, but the Wolves would go on to extend their lead to 15-8.
• The Blue Jays would use a 3-0 stretch of their own, fueled by a kill from Shannon Carey (Bayport, N.Y.), to pull back within four, 15-11.
• However, the stretch would not be enough as WCSU went on to take the opening set, 25-14.
• The visitors would jump out to another early lead, taking a 10-5 advantage to start the second set.
• USJ would cut the gap to four, 12-8 after a kill by Hannah Benson (Terryville, Conn.) and an ace by Alexandra Long (East Hartford, Conn.) 
• A 6-1 run by the Wolves though, would force a USJ timeout as WCSU extended the gap to 18-9.
• USJ would gain momentum heading out of the break in action, using a 3-0 run. Featuring kills from Carey and Rachel Heaney (Torrington, Conn.), the Blue Jays cut the gap to the Wolves, 18-12.
• WCSU would find themselves at match point, but the Blue Jays would not go down easy, using a late 3-0 run to get within six, but the Wolves would take the second set, 25-18.
• The Wolves would take another early 5-2 lead in the third set, but a 4-1 USJ run, brought the third set level, 6-6.
• Benson would take the lead for the Blue Jays, 10-9 after picking up a kill, but WCSU would regain its lead, 14-13.
• After forcing a Blue Jay timeout with the score at 17-13, a Kailee Snyder (Brookfield, Conn.) kill and a Carey ace brought the Blue Jays back within two, 17-15.
• However, the Wolves would use a late 7-1 run to take the third set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.

NOTES

• Benson paced the Blue Jays with eight kills.
• Long tallied a team-high seven assists.
• Natalia Rabassa (Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico) led the defense, notching 11 digs.
• The tally marked the 14th time this season that Rabassa tallied double digits in digs.
• WCSU extended their lead in the all-time series to 3-0 against USJ.

UP NEXT

Volleyball returns to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play, travelling to Emmanuel College on Thursday, October 13. First serve against the Saints is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Jean Yawkey Center in Boston.

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