CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University dropped a non-conference battle 3-0 to visiting Fontbonne University this evening at the Nicholas Athletics Center. The win for the Griffins is their third in a row as they improve to 14-9 on the season while the Lynx slip to 0-14 overall.

Ten different players registered kills for Fontbonne, heralded by freshman Brendon Schwartze (St. Louis, Mo.) who led all players with seven on the night. Fellow rookie Aaron Kowalewski (Fenton, Mo.) and sophomore Stephen Lendy (Chicago, Ill.) both finished with six for the guests while second year Tony Pitaro (Las Vegas, Nev.) slammed down five. Sophomore Jacob Lendy (Chicago, Ill.) facilitated the offense and dished out a match-high 26 assists and senior Jimmy Stika (St. Louis, Mo.) anchored the defense with five digs.

For the hosts, junior Tyler Burns (Newton, Pa.) and senior Chris Barletta (Valrico, Fla.) registered five kills apiece while juniors Jason Hulteen (Galena, Ohio) and Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) each finished with a pair. DiDomenico also created havoc at the net for the Griffins, finishing with a career-best four solo blocks and two block assists. Senior C.Jay Sutton (Billerica, Mass.) compiled a match- and season-high nine digs while Burns added seven to his line on the night. As a team, the Lynx finished with a season-best nine total blocks.

The opening set was back-and-forth in the early-goings as a Barletta slam gave the Lynx a 6-4 edge before the Griffins rattled off four straight points sparked by a Jacob Lendy kill to reclaim an 8-6 lead. Later in the set with Fontbonne clinging to a 15-11 lead, back-to-back kills from Burns and Barletta followed by a Burns ace brought Lesley to within one, but the Griffins answered back and pulled away with a 10-2 run to close out the set.

Second set action nearly mirrored the first as the teams traded off points early on before the Griffins pulled away. A Schwartze kill gave the guests a 15-8 advantage before the Lynx put together a 5-1 run to trim the deficit to three, 16-13, but Fontbonne finished strong with a late 9-1 run to stake a 2-0 match lead with a 25-14 second set victory.

With the score knotted at 6-6 in the third, Lesley took advantage of a pair of Fontbonne miscues to take an 8-6 edge before the Griffins stopped the run with a 6-1 spurt capped by consecutive aces from freshman Gabe Grote (St. Peters, Mo.). The Lynx would chip away and pull within three, 18-15, but once again the Griffins used a late run to shut the door with a 7-3 streak to clinch the victory.

Next up for both teams will be Mount Ida College as the Griffins will travel to Newton, Mass. tomorrow for a tri-match with the Mustangs and Newbury College starting at 11:00a while the Lynx will hit the road in a non-conference affair with the Mustangs on Monday at 6:00p.