Nolan Surpasses 2,000 Assists as Volleyball Sweeps Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior setter Allie Nolan (Melrose, Mass.) recorded a season-high 41 assists, including the 2,000th of her collegiate career, as the Worcester State University volleyball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a straight sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-17) win over Westfield State on Tuesday evening at the Woodward Center.

The Owls fall to 0-8 (0-1 MASCAC) with the loss and the Lancers improve to 3-5 (1-0 MASCAC).

The historic assist came late in the opening set on a kill by senior Lauren Murphy (Taunton, Mass.). She is just the second player in program history to record 2,000 assists in her career, following Amanda Lewis '15, who finished her career with 2,305.

The Owls battled early in the match bringing the first two sets down to the wire. In the first, Westfield flipped an early 11-4 deficit into a 15-11 lead before Worcester knotted the game at 20-20. The Lancers' Murphy and Stephanie Chapin (Hampden, Mass.) had back-to-back kills starting a five-point rally to close out the set. Chapin and Murphy finished with nine and eight kills respectively.

The pivotal second set was a back and forth event that was tied 12 times with 8 lead changes. Freshman Natalie Gillis (Ashland, Mass.) landed to final two kills of the set for Worcester in the two-point win. She finished with seven kills on the night.

Lancer Amari King (Lawrence, Mass.) was the game leader in kills with 12 and added eight digs. Westfield's Brianna Starkey (Rockland, Mass.) paced the Owls with nine kills.

Game leading defensive efforts came from Westfield's Jess Haradon (Mansfield, Mass.) and Worcester's Megan Leavens (Storrs, Conn.) who each finished with 15 digs.

Both teams will host matches Thursday, Sept. 13 at 7:00 p.m., the Owls entertain Mount Holyoke and Worcester State faces Lasell.