CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University senior Katrina Stroganoff (Cedar Grove, N.J.) knocked down a match-high 15 kills to go with her team-high 17 digs as the Lynx topped Anna Maria College 26-24, 16-25, 25-23, 25-18, in a non-conference tilt tonight at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. With the win, Lesley improves to 4-6 on the year while Anna Maria falls to 6-5 overall.
Junior Danielle Johnson (Waterford, Conn.) dished out a career-high 36 assists and dug out 13 for the Lynx while freshman Vanessa Smith (Somersworth, N.H.) notched a career-high in kills, with ten.
Leading the way for the AMCATS was senior tri-captain Alexandra Rodriguez (Puerto Rico) who finished with ten kills while sophomore setter Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) dished out 26 assists. Freshman libero Michello Connolly (Quincy, Mass.) led the team with 25 digs.
The first set was tight throughout as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than four points and the set saw eleven lead changes. With the set tied 14-14, Anna Maria grabbed the biggest lead of the opening game, taking advantage of four consecutive Lesley errors to take an 18-14 edge. The Lynx answered back with a 4-0 run of their own, notching at 18-18 on a Stroganoff kill, and regained a 19-18 advantage on an AMCATS error. After exchanging several points, Anna Maria had a chance to seal the set, serving with a 24-23 lead, but Stroganoff would tie it up again with her fifth kill of the set. Following an Anna Maria error, Smith gave the Lynx the first set victory, 26-24, with a blast set up by Johnson.
In the second set, with Anna Maria holding a slight 10-9 edge, the AMCATS would rattled off five in a row and nine of the next ten points to open up a 19-10 lead on their way to a 25-16 set win to notch the match at 1-1. The visitors saw five different players register kills in the set, led by sophomores Emily Adriaansen (Pepperell, Mass.) and Alyssa Haberman (Boca Raton, Fla.), who each knocked down three.
Lesley held a 20-15 lead in the third, but had to withstand an AMCATS run in order to close out the set. Anna Maria scored eight of the next 11 points, led once again by two kills from Adriaansen, to tie things up at 23-23. Lynx sophomore Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) would regain the Lynx lead with a slam from the right side before an Anna Maria error ended the set 25-23 for the Lynx.
The fourth and deciding set was all Lesley as they jumped out to a 19-9 advantage before withstanding another Anna Maria run to close out the set 25-18.
McDonald registered her third double-double of the season for the Lynx, registering a season-high 14 kills to go with her ten digs. Sophomore Jessie Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) tallied a career-high 13 digs while classmate Katey Carew (Salem, N.H.) finished with 11.
Lesley hit a solid .284 from the floor while holding the AMCATS to just a .030 percentage.
Lesley returns to action tomorrow when they head to Suffolk University for a 7:00p start while Anna Maria will host Framingham State University on Wednesday, also at 7:00p.
Katrina Stroganoff After the Match: