Ashley Crowley and Julia Bartiet go up to block an attack against NYU in the NCAA Tournament.
Posted: Nov 10, 2022
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – A fantastic Westfield State volleyball season came to a close on Thursday afternoon, as the Owls fell to national #8 New York University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, falling 25-8, 25-18, and 25-17 at the Silloway Gymnasium at Wesleyan University.
After being overpowered in the first set as NYU scored the first seven points before winning 25-8, the Owls regrouped after changing sides.
"We started slow but then we came back into our groove and gave NYU a battle," said Westfield State head coach Fred Glanville. "They're an extremely good team… they played well and it was an honor to play against them and get a few more points."
Westfield was making it's sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
In the second set, Westfield jumped out to a 2-0 lead with kills from Shawna Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) and Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.). The set featured seven ties and three lead changes as the two teams largely traded points until the Owls trimmed the NYU lead to 17-16 and forced a timeout from the Violets bench.
Westfield tied the match at 17 on a kill from Bingham as she stuffed back a lazy ball over the net, and an NYU service error gave Westfield a late lead at 18-17.
But from there, NYU rallied with kills from Ava Launsbach (Los Angeles, Calif.) and Gabriella Spaethling (Larkspur, Calif.) forcing Owls head coach Fred Glanville to call a timeout of his own down 20-18. The time out couldn't stop the tides, and NY closed out the set by winning the final five points.
"The first set was just a warm up for us, we didn't know what to expect," said Owls senior captain Shawna Crowley. "Then we saw it and figured it out. By the second set we played our game. I'm so proud of how we played. I love that we played hard, we didn't give up, and we gave it our all.
In the third, Westfield fell behind 17-9, but the Owls rallied with three straight points, first on a block from Julia Bartiet (Cheshire, Conn.), then an NYU attack error, and then a kill from Westfield's Bridgette McAndrews (Longmeadow, Mass.) trimmed the lead back to 17-12.
Down 21-13, Bingham got a tip kill, then the Owls won another point on a McAndrews ace to make it 21-15. Bingham had a block to trim it to 22-16, and the Owls capped their scoring with a kill from Ashley Crowley (Billerica, Mass.) to make it 24-17 before NYU finally closed out the match.
The Violets (26-6) were led by 13 kills from Olivia Lewandowski (San Diego, Calif.), and 11 from Spaethling as NYU took advantage of their overall height, with six players checking in at six-feet or taller. Launsbach finished with 29 assists.
"I honestly though this game was super exciting in the second and third sets," said Ashley Crowley. "We were with them … I think the whole time we could have stayed one and one, but they got ahead a little bit and it was tough for us to get back. I think overall we did pretty well."
McAndrews and Shawna Crowley led Westfield with five kills each. Bingham added four and Ashley Crowley three. Julia Dangel-Garcia (Ashland, Mass.) dished out eight assists and Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) added three. Allie Hill (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) led Westfield with 13 digs.
The Owls close their season at 13-12 overall, while NYU advances to tomorrow's second round to face Salisbury (Md.) University, a 3-0 winner in the first match of the day in Middletown.
"I was expecting us to play well all year," said Glanville, when asked about the full season, and if there was a turning point. "I thought we underachieved a little bit until the end of the year and then we started playing the way I thought we were capable of."
"During the conference semifinals, against MCLA, that game showed what we can do," said Ashley Crowley. "It was incredible."
"Almost half our starting lineup is freshman now," added Shawna Crowley. "Halfway through we got along so well, had new friends, trusting each other on how to play , and that's when it all started going uphill for us,"
For the Crowley twins, the NCAA loss concludes a pair of standout careers that included both being named to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference's all-conference first team today.
The duo has helped swing the fortunes of the Owls volleyball program, which started their freshman season 0-13 before getting into conference play. Since that point, Westfield State has won 29 of 33 games against MASCAC foes over four seasons, and played in the league's conference championship game three out of four years, winning two titles.
"Making it to our championship finals almost every year definitely is something that is exciting, and getting to say that you won two MASCAC championships and coming to double NCAA's is … I don't have words – it's exciting," said Ashley.
"I think it was an experience, said Shawna. It went uphill, downhill throughout the five years we have been here, and honestly, I couldn't be more thankful to be here."
The Crowleys also missed the 2020 season due to the worldwide covid-19 shutdowns, and chose to come back as fifth-year seniors to complete their eligibility.
"So glad we did," said Ashley.
"I was happy they came back," said Glanville. "They made my hair grayer that's for sure."