Nathan Eliopoulos
Equinox Staff
Keene State’s Volleyball team ended Saturday, Sept. 5, with a decisive 3-0 win over Westfield State University. The Owls came into the match with a 1-2 record on the season, following a 3-1 loss to Springfield College earlier in the day.
A slow start in the first set put Keene into a 11-8 deficit with Westfield in the lead. Their lead did not last long, with the rest of the set becoming a total rout for Westfield State as Keene turned the score into an expanding 15-11 lead. Sophomore middle blocker Katie Taylor with a kill and Sophomore libero Amanda Barry with an ace brought the score up to 21-13. Set one ended with a final score of 25-19 thanks to a service error on the part of Westfield.
Sophomore setter Ava Harkins opened up the second set with a scoring onslaught to give Keene a score of 11-0 during the surge, including four aces from Harkins. The Owls’ offense was on fire, making one error during this timeframe. Westfield managed to close the gap to 14-6, though first-year middle blocker Aiya Dottin and junior outside hitter Marina Miller helped in pushing Keene’s lead back into double digits. The score grew to 20-8, helped through another ace by Harkins, closing the set with four straight from first-year outside hitter Bella Bacon and a block from senior outside hitter Sarah Bartels.
At the start of the third set, the Owls built up another massive lead. A kill by Bacon early in the set helped put the team up 7-3, then 14-7. Harkins fostered another surge, with Keene scoring eight in a row to go up by 15 points. Dottin then capitalized for a kill to bring the game to an end, giving Keene a weekend win.
With this win, Keene moves on to their next game Thursday, Sept. 10, hosting Nichols College.
Nathan Eliopoulos can be contacted at
neliopoulos@kscequinox.com
