Worcester, Mass. – Clark University continued its hot play on Thursday evening, making quick work of visiting Western Connecticut State, 3-0, in non-league volleyball action. The win for the Cougars is not only their fifth straight and seventh in their last eight matches, but sends their home record to 9-0 this season.

Game Information:
Score: Clark University 3, Western Connecticut State 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-14)
Records: Clark University 17-7, Western Connecticut State 15-10
Location: Kneller Athletic Center, Worcester, Mass.

How It Happened:
The Scarlet and White wasted little time jumping out to a huge lead in the first set, leading by as many as 16 points at 19-3 as the Colonials struggled with their offensive attack (-.147 hitting) in the opening frame.

WCSU whittled the lead down to 24-14 courtesy of a Kamari King (East Hartford, Conn.) and Cady Cordes (Fallon, Nev.) block, but Clark closed out the set with a Marina Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) kill.

The Cougars moved ahead in the second set and never trailed again going ahead 18-10 on a rare Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) kill.

With the score 23-14, Clark wrapped up the frame on a Ramos kill and then a block at the net by Rachel Webb (Celina, Texas) and Courtney Pharr (Seattle, Wash.).

Western Connecticut stayed close in the opening moments of the third set and were only trailing by two at 10-8 following a Hannah Fox (Dracut, Mass.) kill.

Clark eventually pushed their advantage to 20-12 as several players got in on the act, getting kills from Pharr, Jacqueline Jimenez-Maldonado (San Francisco, Calif.) and Ana Mercado (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico).

After Jimenez-Maldonado and Mercado each collected another kill, the Scarlet and White sealed the match with back-to-back from Ramos and a match-ending block from Webb and Fox.

Coach Speak:
"We played phenomenal," said Clark University head coach Mickey Cahoon, whose team is currently ranked eighth in New England in the first release of the NCAA Regional Rankings.

Inside The Numbers:
Clark held the Colonials to just an .087 hitting percentage, while having one of their best blocking games of the season, finishing with five total.

The offense for the Cougars was evenly distributed with Ramos pacing the way with 13 kills, while both Jimenez-Maldonado and Mercado totaled 11 each. Webb dished out 35 assists on the night – her fifth straight match with 30 helpers or more.

Ramos ended with a match-best 20 digs, while Cattaneo went over the 400 dig mark for the season with 11 more.

Alyssa Dam (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) led WCSU with six kills and Danielle Kaminsky (Southington, Conn.) handed out 20 assists.

Up Next:
Clark will return to action on Saturday when they host a tri-match with Worcester State and Bates College beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Colonials will be back on the court on Saturday as well when they host UMass-Dartmouth.