CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University dropped a 3-0 decision to Daniel Webster College in New England Collegiate Conference Men's Volleyball action tonight at the Nicholas Athletics Center. The Eagles used set scores of 25-10, 25-6, 25-15 to notch their third straight victory and improve to an even 7-7 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in NECC play. The loss slides the Lynx to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in conference matches.
Junior Tyler Burns (Newton, Pa.) led the Lynx offense with seven kills while adding a team-best five digs on the defensive side. Fellow junior Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) added a season-high six kills for the hosts and senior C.Jay Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) dished out seven assists.
DWC freshmen Saunoa Afoa (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Richmond Iturralde Zavalza (Sahuarita, Ariz.) and senior Ryan Howdeshell (Fairbanks, Alaska) slammed down seven kills apiece to pace the Eagles attack. Freshman Nate Makaiwi (Lowell, Mass.) and junior Tommy Reyes (Providence, R.I.) each finished with five kills while Makaiwi added a match-high 16 assists to his line. Senior Darrien Mason (Farmington, Conn.) anchored the defense, leading all players with ten digs.
The Eagles wasted little time in getting their offense in gear as they opened up a 9-2 run to start the first set. After a Lesley timeout, the hosts used a pair of DWC errors to cut the deficit to five, but the Eagles answered right back with a 6-1 run to regain control before rolling to the 25-10 set win.
The second set started much like the first as DWC raced out to a 12-3 lead and never looked back, earning a 2-0 match lead with a 25-6 set victory. The Eagles, paced by four kills each from Makaiwi and Zavalza, swung a collective .875 in the set.
The Lynx got some momentum rolling their way in the third set. Riding the serve of freshman Karuna Chiemruom (Cranston, R.I.) the Lynx rattled off seven straight points to claim a 9-2 advantage. DiDomenico knocked down a pair of kills while Chiemruom capped the run with two consecutive service aces. The Lynx edge would not last long, however, as the Eagles punched back with a monstrous 15-3 streak before claiming the set 25-15 to earn the match sweep.
DWC hit .653 on the night while holding Lesley to a negative percentage. The Eagles also held an advantage in digs (25-10), assists (26-12), and block assists (10-1). Each side registered six service aces.
The Lynx will be off until next Wednesday, February 24th when they host Endicott College in an NECC tilt at 8:00p. The Eagles will face a quick turnaround and return to the court tomorrow when they travel to Endicott to battle with the Gulls at 7:00p.