CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Southern Vermont College junior Anthony Contreras (Norwalk, Calif.) registered a match-high 12 kills while swinging .333 from the floor to lead the Mountaineers past Lesley University 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-11) tonight in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. SVC improves to 11-9 overall and 7-4 in NECC action while the Lynx fall to 0-18 on the year and 0-11 in the conference.
Prior to the contest, Lesley celebrated the careers of seniors Makenzie Lukas (Reno, Nev.), Melvin Morales (Chelsea, Mass.), and Aqib Shah (Watertown, Mass.) in front of a lively crowd with a brief ceremony on Senior Night.
Fellow junior Scott Fitzgerald (Fort Edward, N.Y.) knocked down nine kills on the night while Joey Dighton (Riverside, Calif.) and Anthony Barahona (Eagle Rock, Calif.) each finished with six. Dighton hit a robust .417 from the floor while Barahona added a team-best nine digs to his line. Senior setter Anthony Ayala (Pico Rivera, Calif.) led all players as he dished out 32 assists.
Lesley University freshman Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) led the Lynx with five kills, a match-high 3.5 blocks, while adding three digs. Morales added four kills and four digs on the night while Shah and sophomore C.J. Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) led the team with seven digs apiece.
The teams played a tight first set that saw seven ties and five lead changes. With the score tied at 10-10, the Lynx went on a 3-0 run capped by a DiDomenico kill to take a 13-10 edge, but the Mountaineers answered back with an 11-1 run to take control of the set 21-14. The hosts would score three of the next four points, but it was too little too late as SVC grabbed three straight to close out the set 25-17. Contreras led the offense in the opening set, knocking down seven of his 12 kills on the night.
Trailing 10-4 to start the second set, the Lynx used a 5-2 spurt to pull within three, 12-9. Once again, SVC gained separation by using an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 20-11 before ending the set with a 25-14 score. Contreras and Barahona each finished with three kills in the set and Fitzgerald added two as the Mountaineers swung .269 in the set.
SVC carried the momentum into the third and final set as they jumped out to a 13-5 lead before rolling to the 3-0 victory with a 25-11 set victory. Fitzgerald and Dighton led the Mountaineer offense with six kills and five kills, respectively, while Barahona, Contreras, and juniors James Barker (Southborough, Mass.), and Kevev Walley (Pico Rivera, Calif.) each finished with two. SVC, who hit a collective .267 on the night, finished the third swinging a scorching .361 from the floor.
The Lynx will finish their season on Wednesday, April 2nd when they travel to Daniel Webster College for a 7:o0p start. The Mountaineers will also be back in action on Wednesday when they celebrate Senior Night as they host Elms College. First serve is set for 7:00p.