GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine women's volleyball team hosted a tri-match Mount Saint Mary College (NY) and Western New England University on Saturday in Hill Gym. Mount Saint Mary won the opening game in a five-set thriller and Western New England took the final match in three sets. Junior Kylee Eubanks-Hemme (Rosamond, Cali.) had a total of 30 kills on the afternoon with 19 in the match against Mount Saint Mary and another 11 against Western New England.
 
Freshman Reese Helisek (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) recorded 59 assists over the two matches plus 22 digs and had a double-double in each match. Junior Amelia Beatty (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) had 31 digs between the two matches with 22 coming in the loss to Mount Saint Mary.
 
 
Game 1 vs. MSMC
The Records:
Mount Saint Mary: 4-6
Southern Maine: 3-8
 
Series History:
Today's match was the first between the Huskies and the Knights since 2010. The two teams faced off in both 2009 and 2010 as part of a tournament at Salem State. The Knights took both matches.
 
How It Happened:

• The Huskies got off to a fast start with an incredible 13-0 run to open the first set. The run includes four aces from Helisek and five kills from Eubanks-Hemme. The Knight eventually tied the score at 17-17 before the Huskies pulled away again to win the set 25-23.
• Southern Maine pulled away late in the second set with a 6-0. Run to take a 20-16 lead before closing out the set 25-20.
• The Knights stayed alive with a 25-22 win in the third set and opened the fourth set with a 9-2 run on their way to a 25-13 win to tie the match at two sets apiece.
• Mount Saint Mary scored the first three points of the tiebreaking set and held on to the lead the rest of the way for a 15-8 win to take the match 3-2.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Eubanks-Hemme's 19 kills were a game-high. Three Knights Julianna Simone (17), Brooke Lavelle (13) and Kaitlin Dillon (11) reached double-figures.
• Helisek had eight aces to help the Huskies to a 15-13 lead in the category.

 
Game 2 vs. WNE
The Records:
Western New England: 5-8
Southern Maine: 3-9
 
 
Series History:
The Golden Bears lead the all-time series 3-0. The first meeting between the two teams was at the same tournament where the Huskies played Mount Saint Mary in 2009. The teams then met again in 2022 with WNE winning 3-0.
 
How It Happened:

• Western New England scored five of the final six points of the first set to win 26-24 and go ahead 1-0.
• The Huskies kicked off the second set with a 5-0 run. However, the Golden Bears eventually took a 16-14 lead thanks to a 10-1 run. The Huskies fought back from set-point with three consecutive points to tie the score at 24-24 and went up 26-25 before the visitors pulled out the win 28-26.
• The Golden Bears took the final set 25-19 to win the match 3-0.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Eubanks-Hemme and freshman Mariah Eaton (West Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) each had 11 kills to lead the Huskies. Eubanks-Hemme also had three aces.
• Western New England led 13-7 in aces.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies will have another home match on Tuesday night at 6:00 pm against New England College.