Owls Fall in Straight Sets to Rivier

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State concluded day two of the Springfield Invitational Tournament with a three-set loss against Rivier University (25-17, 25-12, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon from Springfield, Mass. The loss puts the Owls at 1-2 on the season as the team wraps up play in the weekend tournament.

In the first set, the Owls fell into an eleven-point deficit as Rivier collected 20 of the first 29 points. However, the Owls fought back midway through, with Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Michaela O'Connor (Shrewsbury, Mass.) registering consecutive kills to cap a string of five points in six volleys. The teams traded off points, but a Sydney Racevicius (Woodbury, Conn.) kill and service ace gave the Raiders an opening-set victory.

In set number two, Westfield tallied three of the first four points in the set, but a pair of sizeable Raider runs created distance between the two teams. Racevicius ended the second set as well with a kill.

The Owls kept the third set tight in the beginning with Kylie Joyce (Pittsfield, Mass.) registering a kill to make it a 9-7 Rivier advantage. The middle of the set turned in Rivier's advantage as the service games of Racevicius and Sofia Pawlusik (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) combined for eight of the next nine points, expanding the Raiders lead to nine. From that point forward, the Owls were unable to climb out of the deficit.

Shawna Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) was named to the Springfield Invitational All-Tournament team after producing 15 kills and 12 digs across the three matches.

Westfield rotated in 15 different players in the match, with nine different players recording a kill. Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) led the way with six, while Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) paced the Owls with 11 digs. Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) was the top facilitator, setting up half of the Owls kills with nine. Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) had both solo blocks for either side.

Lily Sills (Carlisle, Mass.) generated a game-high 16 kills for Rivier, with Cadia Greene (North Kingston, R.I.) and Racevicius totaling nine and seven kills. Avery Pollard (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) ignited the offensive attack with 30 assists.

Westfield State will continue their road trip on Wednesday as the Owls will travel to Amherst College for a 7:00 P.M. start time.