NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Junior Elizabeth Atkinson and Freshman Sarah Somer combined for 21 kills and only one error to help the Bears to a 3-1 (29-19, 25-18, 25-19, 25-17) win over non-conference opponent Westfield State on Thursday evening. With the win, their third in a row, the Bears improved to 12-4. The Owls fell to 5-9 with the loss.

Four Bears had double digits kills: Atkinson (10), Somer (11), Shannon Shaw (match-high 14), and Noelle Tursky (10). Tursky and Maeve Duffin each had 18 assists and seven digs on the night. Carmen Zipf led the Bears with a match-high 21 digs, followed by Kaela France with 15 and Laila Baameur with eight. Tursky and Zipf aced the Owls three times each, with Allie Wildsmith adding two aces of her own. Duffin, France, Baameur, and Vickie Mancine each added an ace as well.

On service from Baameur in set one, Somer and Shaw came out swinging with multiple kills, giving the Bears the early lead at 5-2. It was then Zipf who rattled off five serves in a row to put Coast Guard ahead 11-4, with help from Westfield State errors and a Somer kill. The Owls caught the Bears on their heels as a Bridgette McAndrews kill and aces from Ashley Crowley and Shawna Crowley brought the score to 12-11. A Duffin set to Atkinson for the kill got the point for the Bears. Tursky got a kill to set up her own service, and then recorded one of her aces on the night. Two kills in a row by Somer put the Bears up by four at 22-18. After a kill by Emily Washkalavitch, Coast Guard brought it back for three points in a row with a Tursky kill, France ace, and Atkinson kill to close out the set 25-19.

Set two saw back and forth action and a tied score at 7-7. However, it was an Atkinson kill and two by Tursky to put the Bears ahead 7-10, and they would not lose the lead from there. Mack Boose swung down on an over ball and Somer added two kills from Zipf and Tursky to add to the Bears' lead at 17-11. Two Coast Guard errors would bring the Owls as close at 22-18, but a kill by Boose and a kill and ace by Tursky gave the Bears the set win, 25-18.

The Owls came out with a vengeance in set three, and Julia Dangel-Garcia aced the Bears for the first two pints of the set. However, Tursky was having none of it, and quickly got the Bears back into it with a kill, an assist, and an ace, putting Coast Guard up 4-2. With the score 9-7, Shaw got a kill from Tursky to set up Duffin to serve. A block and back to back kills from Atkinson put the Bears up by two, 11-9. Westfield State would tie it, 13-13 and 15-15, before pushing ahead 17-15. A Shaw and Wildsmith block would give the Bears one back, but the Owls aced the Bears twice to keep the lead, 20-16. Coast Guard got as close as three at 22-19, but Westfield State took the set, 25-19.

Coast Guard wasted no time in set four, and service by Mancine put the Bears in a great spot. On the service, Shaw had two kills and Somer one, giving the Bears the 5-1 lead. With the Owls pushing back to within one at 7-6, it was Zipf who stepped up with two aces in a row to put the Bears up 10-6. After some back and forth, it was a Somer kill bookended by two Wildsmith aces to give the Bears the 19-12 lead. With the Bears up six, a great block by Wildsmith and Claire Portigue got the serve back for Coast Guard. A beautiful set from Duffin and killer swing from Wildsmith gave the Bears the set and match win, 25-17.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday, October 1 at 12 PM as they travel to Boston to take on the Lions of Emerson College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.