Falcons Clawed by Owls in MASCAC Action

Falcons Clawed by Owls in MASCAC Action

Manyak, Newcomb and Beauvais honored on senior Night


Fitchburg, Mass.– The Fitchburg State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the Owls of Westfield State this evening at the Parkinson Gymnasium in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action.

In a pre-game ceremony the Falcons honored seniors Jaquelyn Manyak (Bolton, Mass.), Kathryn Newcomb (Portsmouth, RI) and Emily Beauvais (Greenville, NH) for their contributions to the program.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Westfield State 3 (13-25, 15-25, 11-25)
Records: Fitchburg State (3-16, 1-4 MASCAC) | Westfield State (11-13, 6-0 MASCAC)

Set One
The Falcons jumped out to a 3-1 lead with kills from Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) and Paige Anderson (Winchendon, Mass.). The Owls responded with a 10-3 run topped by a kill from senior Hanna Simpkins (Walpole, Mass.) to take an 11-6 lead. Fitchburg capitalized on an attack error from Westfield and another kill from Sheehan to cut the deficit to 22-13. The visitors secured the first set victory with a pair of kills from senior Brianna Starkey (Rockland, Mass.), resulting in the 25-13 final.

Set Two
In the second set, the Owls quickly grabbed a 9-4 advantage, however the Falcons answered with a pair of blocks from Newcomb to trail 12-10 midway through the match. Westfield closed out the match 25-15 with a 4-0 run on Shawna Crowley's (Billerica, Mass.) serve.

Set Three
In the final set, the hosts opened with a quiet 2-0 lead. Westfield reeled off six straight points to take a 6-2 lead, however the Green and Gold answered with a pair of kills from Beauvais and Newcomb to make it an 8-6 game. The Owls finished out the match notching six of the game's final seven points for the 25-11 win.

Inside the Numbers

  • Fitchburg State was led by Anderson with a team-best seven kills, three digs and an assist, Manyak added seven digs and eight assists. Sheehan was also solid for the Falcons, collecting three kills and seven digs.
  • For Westfield, senior Ally Rega (Chelmsford, Mass.) had a game best 27 assists and six digs, while Starkey added 11 kills.

Up Next
Falcons will travel to Mt. Holyoke next Thursday (10/31) for a non-conference bout, starting at 7:00 PM. Trailblazers will visit MIT on Saturday for a non-conference tri-match with the Engineers at 11:00 AM and Simmons starting at 1:00 PM.