Volleyball Drops Five-Set Thriller to Western New England

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene volleyball team absorbed a five-set loss to Western New England Wednesday evening at the Lahue Physical Education Center.

The Lions sink to 9-13 overall and 0-3 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. The Golden Bears improve to 14-5 on the year and 2-2 in league matches.

Three players posted double-doubles on the night for Eastern Nazarene. Cayla Clinkscale (Winchendon, Mass.) led the way with 16 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and three service aces. Kortney Jenkins (Bunker Hill , W.V.) and Hannah Welsh (Derry, N.H.) each tallied 15 kills and 13 digs in the match.

Vanessa Pascal (Marlborough, Mass.) notched a team-high 17 digs and added two blocks while Sam Losano (Elverta, Calif.) chipped in with nine digs and three aces.

Setter Lauryl Berger (Laurel, Del.) registered 43 assists in the contest.

Western New England was paced by Kelsey Armstrong with 11 kills while Devyn Frank posted 10 kills. Maureen Pollet turned in the visitors' lone double-double, finishing with 10 kills and 10 digs on the night. Grace Kucharski led the Golden Bears with 18 digs.

The Lions edged the Golden Bears in the opening set 27-25 and prevailed in a closely-contested second game 26-24.

Western New England rallied to claim the final three sets to earn the win.

The two sides battled evenly in the first set as neither team gained a large lead. The Golden Bears built a 15-10 margin but Eastern Nazarene responded with four straight points to cut the deficit to 15-14.

After the visitors went ahead 24-23, the Lions answered with an equalizer as Welsh knocked down a kill.

Western New England bounced back to lead 25-24 but Eastern Nazarene rallied to pick up the final three points of the frame as Jenkins notched a kill and Welsh tallied the final two kills.

The Golden Bears opened the second set with a 9-3 run before the Lions clawed back with three consecutive service aces by Losano, narrowing the margin to 9-7.

The home team extended a lead to 17-12 with four unanswered points. The visitors knotted the score at 24-24 with back-to-back points.

Eastern Nazarene closed out the set to jump ahead 2-0 in the match.

Western New England raced out to 4-0 advantage in the third game and would not relinquish the lead as it captured the third frame 25-17.

The opening stages of the fourth set were evenly contested as the two sides were tied at 9-9.

The Golden Bears went on a 9-2 run to push their lead to 18-13.

The visitors leveled the match at 2-2 with a 25-18 decision in the fourth.

In the deciding fifth set, Eastern Nazarene seized an early 5-3 edge.

Western New England evened the score at 7-7 on an ace by Frank.

After the Lions reclaimed an 11-9 lead, the Golden Bears rallied to knot up the set at 11-11.

The visiting team collected the final four points of the fifth game to seal the victory.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will look to capture its first conference victory of the season as it hosts Wentworth October 15.