Owls Defend Nest, Broom Blue Jays 3-0

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year outside hitter Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) powered home a game-high nine kills as the Owls defeated University of Saint Joseph in straight sets (25-13, 25-6, 25-15) on Wednesday night from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

With a five-point lead midway through the first set, the Owls took control by registering six of the next seven points, highlighted by consecutive kills from Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) and Cummins. Later in the scoring burst, Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) logged a kill, then a service ace from Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Penn.) pushed the Owls lead to 19-10.

Westfield closed set one with four straight kills, two from Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.), one from Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.), and one to wrap up the set from Washkalavitch, all coming within the service game of Dority.

The Owls controlled the second set from start to finish, piling up 15 of the first 18 points punctuated with a six-point run generated off the service game of Bingham. Westfield (2-4) recorded a season-high 15 aces in the match, the highest total dating back to September 2022 where the Owls posted 17 aces against these same Blue Jays.

Chloe Schuld (Sycamore, Ill.) continued the effective service trend on the night, firing home three consecutive aces to bring the Owls to set point in the middle stanza. Cummins closed the frame on a kill set up by Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) who dished out 12 helpers on the night.

In the third set, the Blue Jays got out to a quick start, winning seven of the first eight points of the frame, capped by a kill from Shaye Harris (Prospect, Conn.) mixed between two aces from Ericka Pyrz (Amityville, N.Y.) and one from Gabi Wanner (Southington, Conn.).

With the Owls trailing 9-3, Cummins delivered her seventh kill of the evening, then Westfield totaled six straight points off the service game of Washkalavitch, three which ended in aces to pull ahead, 10-9. Washkalavitch concluded the match with a game-high four aces.

Saint Joseph tied the set after an error, then the Owls went on another substantial scoring run, ripping off 14 of the ensuing 15 points to extend the Owls lead to 23-11. The Nihill sisters finished the evening with a pair of kills, sealing the victory for Westfield.

Cummins paced the Owls with nine kills, followed by Hanna Nihill with seven. Nine different Owls registered a kill on the night, collecting 35 as a team. Dority contributed 17 assists and Schuld led Westfield with 13 digs.

Harris led the Blue Jays with six kills and eight digs while Rachel Heaney (Torrington, Conn.) supplied four kills. Wanner dished out 12 assists for Saint Joseph who fall to 0-5 on the season.

After winning back-to-back home games, Westfield State seeks their first road win of the young season as the Owls travel to Brandeis for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday, facing the host Judges on Friday at 4:00 P.M. Saint Joseph (CT) will travel to GNAC opponent Saint Joseph's Maine on Saturday at 12:00 P.M.