Worcester State Downed by Keene State

WORCESTER, Mass. – Keene State's Rachel Lamica (Malone, N.Y.) and Courtney Collins (Litchfield, N.H.) led the Owls to a 3-0 win over the Worcester State Lancers Tuesday night inside the Lancer Gymnasium with set scores of 25-18, 25-13, and 25-23.

Lamica notched a game-high 16 kills with a .317 attack percentage, while Collins grabbed 10 kills for a match-high attack percentage of .526. Also assisting on the offensive end was Katie Cunningham (Nelsonville, N.Y.) who tallied 30 assists and Kat Carrel (Avon, Mass.) who scored on three service aces.

On the defensive end for the Owls, Riley Bunker (Simi Valley, Calif.) marked a game-high 14 digs, while Cunningham followed with eight. Collins not only had the team's highest attack percentage of the night, but also registered a team-best four blocks (one solo) against the Lances' attackers.

For the Lancers, sophomore Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) steered the offense as she marked a team-best eight kills with a .238 attack percentage. Newcomers Sarah Powers (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Stephanie Chapin (Hampden, Mass.) followed Carens in collecting six kills apiece. Helping the Blue and Gold's offense was sophomore Alexandra Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) who marked 22 assists and a team-best two service aces on the evening. Defensively, Megan Leavens (W. Boylston, Mass.) tallied a team-best 12 digs, while Lauren Murphy (Taunton, Mass.) and Katrina Kangwijaya (Dunstable, Mass.) dug nine apiece.

In the first set the Owls averaged a .143 attack percentage, while they held their opponents to -.056. The second set was not much different as the Owls kept Worcester State's attack percentage in the negatives, improving to .321.

The third set was the closest of the night, as Worcester State came out with four straight points to begin. At first it looked like the game was all in Worcester's hands, though, Keene State closed the gap and tied the game up at 12-12 following a kill from Collins and a service ace from Carrel. The game was tied up three more times at 18-18, 19-19, and 23-23 until Keene State came away with the win on a Worcester attack error and a game-winning kill from Collins.     

The Owls (8-6) return to action on Saturday (Sep. 24) when they travel to Rhode Island College for a conference game, while the Lancers (5-5) resume play on Thursday (Sep. 22) as they host Lasell in another non-conference game.