NASHUA, N.H. – Junior Ryan Howdeshell (Fairbanks, Alaska) knocked down a match-high 14 kills and went to add 24 assists, seven aces and nine digs leading host Daniel Webster past Lesley, 3-1 (25-12, 25-13, 24-26, 25-20) in a New England Collegiate Conference matchup Tuesday night at Mario Vagge Gymnasium. The win halted a four-match skid for the Eagles as they improve to 2-8 overall and 2-3 in the NECC while the Lynx slide to 1-12 on the year and 0-4 in the conference.
Senior Charlie Hendrix (Kane'ohe, Haw.) posted a solid night of his own for DWC, knocking down 11 kills and hit .600, adding three aces and five assists. Junior Tommy Reyes (Providence, R.I.) picked up 10 kills for the winners, adding 13 assists and nine digs.
Lynx junior Jess Cherry (Lancaster, Penn.) led a Lesley squad with nine kills, seven digs and two aces. Sophomore Tyler Burns (Newtown, Penn.) added six kills and a pair of aces while Mitchel Ulacco (Winchester, Mass.) handed out 18 assists. The Lynx also took a set from the Eagles for the first time since 2011 rallying back from five match-points down to force a fourth.
DWC hit a season-high .278 with 55 kills to 24 for the Lynx. DWC also finished with key advantages in assists (45-22), aces (14-4) and digs (37-28). Lesley countered with a 15-8 decision in total blocks.
The Eagles set a season high mark in the opening set hitting .423 with five kills from Reyes and four from Hendrix and DWC bettered themselves in the second hitting .458 with Howdeshell knocking down five kills. Lesley countered with four kills from Cherry in the second.
Lesley, who hit -.043 and .100 in the opening two sets, hit .174 in the third in outlasting DWC for a 26-24 win rebounding from deficits of 21-15 and 24-19 behind four straight points at the service line – including two aces - from Cherry.
DWC righted the ship in the fourth, after hitting just .114 in the third. Hendrix posted five kills in the set while Darrien Mason (Farmington, Conn.) and Howdeshell picked up three.
Lesley is off until next Thursday, March 12th when they host Regis in a NECC meeting at 8:00 p.m. The Eagles will play host Endicott on Saturday in another NECC matchup beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Release Courtesy Daniel Webster College Sports Information.