Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Bay Path

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sydney Cummins (Nicholasville, Ky.) and Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) each totaled nine kills to lead Westfield State to sweep of Bay Path University (25-16, 30-28, 25-17) in a non-conference road game on Saturday afternoon.

Cummins has now totaled nine or more kills in four of her last five matches for the Owls, which move to 3-6 overall on the season. Anastasiya Tsetsko (Horsham, Penn.) posted 11 kills for the Wildcats, which fall to 5-2 overall.

The Owls had a strong net presence throughout the match, headlined by Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) who registered six total blocks as the Owls had 12 blocks on the afternoon.

Eight of the first nine points of set one went to the Owls, capped by consecutive kills by Cummins and Bingham. The Wildcats would get no closer than six points behind the Owls in set one, allowing Westfield to cruise to a set one victory.

A back and forth second set saw 15 ties and 18 lead changes. Late in the set, back-to-back kills by Hanna Nihill pushed the Owls to set point at 24-23. However, the Wildcats responded with a kill from Asja Kazic (West Jordan, Utah) then a service ace from Lilly Kibbe (Ware, Mass.) to send Bay Path to a set point. The set would extend past the 25-point mark as both teams remained knotted at 28 before a Wildcats attack error, then an ace by Cummins gave the Owls two consecutive points to close out an extensive second frame.

In the third set, the Owls finished strong, recording six of the final seven points to pull away with a three-set sweep of the Wildcats. Julia Bartiet (Cheshire, Conn.) punctuated the game for Westfield with two straight kills to secure the victory.

Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) led Westfield with 18 assists with Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) adding 13 assists. Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) added a team-leading nine digs and notched a pair of aces for the Owls.

Westfield State will remain on the road for their next three matches, resuming play on Tuesday at Amherst College for a 7:00 P.M. start.