CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Mount Ida College sophomore James Ames (West Hartford, Conn.) tallied a match-high nine kills to lead the Mustangs to a 3-0 (25-6, 25-11, 25-16) sweep of Lesley University tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. Mount Ida moves to 2-4 on the young season while Lesley drops their second consecutive match to open the 2014 campaign at 0-2.
Complementing Ames' offense was senior Nick Schibi (Torrington, Conn.) and sophomore Dennis Miranda (Hialeah, Fla.) who finished with seven kills apiece while senior Steve Morisseau (Norwood, Mass.) chipped in with six kills. Sophomore setter Brady Rodriguez (Longwood, Fla.) led all players with 27 assists, seven aces, and six digs in the winning effort.
Lesley was paced by freshman Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) who finished with seven kills and four digs while senior Makenzie Lukas (Reno, Nev.) registered five kills. Freshman Mitchell Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) dished out 12 assists for the Lynx to go with his three digs.
The Mustangs hit an impressive .385 from the floor while holding a distinct 35-13 edge in kills. The Lynx struggled with the attack, compiling a -.034 percentage.
Mount Ida came out of the gate fast in the opening set, jumping out to a 10-0 lead before extending their advantage to 18-2 on their way to the 25-6 set win. Senior Nick Melillo (North Haven, Conn.) finished with four kills in the set while Rodriguez connected on three of his seven aces in the opener.
An Ames kill followed by a Rodriguez ace gave the Mustangs an early 2-0 lead in the second set. The teams would exchange kills before an Ulacco ace knotted the game at 3-3. A Miranda slam would be answered by a Lesley kill from Tyler Burns, but Mount Ida would recover with a 3-0 streak to reclaim the lead for good. Ames registered four kills in the set while Morisseau tallied three to help the Mustangs to the 25-11 set win.
The teams would play a tight beginning to the third set. After the Mustangs jumped out to a 5-1 edge, but the Lynx would go on a 6-4 run to climb within two, 9-7. Trailing 11-8, Lesley would score three of the next four points to pull within one, 12-11, but Mount Ida would close out the set on a 13-5 streak to cruise to the 25-16 third set win.
The Lynx will next play on Monday, February 3rd when they travel to Mount Ida for a 6:00p start. The Mustangs will return to the court on Wednesday, January 29th when they play host to Regis College at 6:00p.