BENNINGTON, Vt. – The Lesley University men's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches this afternoon in a tri-match with New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foe Southern Vermont College and the Community College of Rhode Island. The Lynx fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-10) to the Mountaineers while falling 3-1 (25-15, 25-12, 30-32, 25-18) to the Knights. Lesley now stands at 0-10 on the season and 0-4 in the NECC.
Match One: Southern Vermont 3, Lesley 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-10)
Nine different players registered kills for the Mountaineers, led by six from senior outside hitter Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.). Juniors Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.), Florentino Escovedo (Fresno, Calif.), Anthony Contreras (Norwalk, Conn.), and Scott Fitzgerald (Fort Edward, N.Y.) all registered five kills while Fitzgerald added a match-high nine digs. Senior setter Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.) led all players with 25 assists.
Freshman Tyler Burns (Newtown, Pa.) led the Lynx offense with six kills while sophomore C.J. Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) and Mitchel Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) each finished with six digs on the defensive side. Seniors Aqib Shah (Watertown, Mass.) and Makenzie Lukas (Reno, Nev.) each recorded a block for Lesley while Ulacco dished out a team-high ten assists.
Southern Vermont finished the match with a .289 hitting percentage, including an impressive .429 mark in the second set, while Lesley struggled from the floor, finishing with a negative percentage.
Match Two: Community College of Rhode Island 3, Lesley 1 (25-15, 25-12, 30-32, 25-18)
Brandon Tordoff led all players in the second match of the afternoon with 20 kills and 11 digs while hitting .275 from the floor. Elson Abotsi finished with nine kills with a strong .467 hitting percentage. Setter Tommy Reyes dished out 31 assists for the Knights while Derek Gouveia registered ten digs. Shawn Mulso proved to be a major disturbance at the net for the Lynx, finishing with two solo blocks and three blocking assists.
Senior Melvin Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) knocked down a season-high nine kills to pace the Lynx attack while Shah finished with three kills and a career-best ten digs. Burns finished with five kills on the day while Ulacco marked his third straight match with double-digit assists, dishing out 19 on the afternoon.
After dropping the first two sets, the Lynx grabbed the third in exciting fashion. Holding a 23-17 edge, the Knights rattled off seven straight points to take a 24-23 lead. The Lynx held on match point and the teams exchanged the next ten points before a Sutton ace and Morales kill ended the third 32-30 in favor of the Lynx.
In the fourth set, the Lynx trailed by just one, 14-13, before CCRI scored six straight to take a commanding 20-13 lead before taking the set 25-18. Gouveia registered three straight aces for the Knights during the streak.
The Lynx return home on Tuesday, March 4th in their last match before spring break when they host Daniel Webster College in NECC action at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. First serve is set for 8:00p.