CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) sweep to St. Joseph's College (Maine) in non-conference action this afternoon at the Nicholas Athletics Center. The Lynx fall to 0-2 on the season while the Monks improve to 2-0 with the victory.
The Lynx were led by freshman Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) who finished with a match-high 14 kills on 21 attempts without an error to accumulate a spectacular .667 hitting percentage to lead all players. Senior Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) added eight kills for the hosts while sophomore Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) connected for seven. Senior libero Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) led all players with 19 digs and classmate Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) posted a match-best 32 assists to go with 15 digs.
Monks senior Felicia Wachowiak (Milton, N.H.) was excellent at the net for the visitors as she posted a team-high 12 kills, three solo blocks, and four blocking assists. Junior Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) accompanied Wachowiak with eight kills and 13 digs while freshman libero Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) anchored the defense with 17 digs. Junior Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) finished with 27 assists.
After dropping the set 25-16, the Lynx jumped out to a 15-7 lead to start the second set. Abbruzzese led the charge for the hosts as she buried four kills on the run. Later in the set, with the Lynx leading 19-12, the Monks went on an 8-1 streak to knot the set to 20-20. Lesley would use a brief 3-1 spurt to come within two points of tying the match at 1-1, but St. Joseph's would rally to score four unanswered points to take the second set 25-23 and 2-0 match lead. Wachowiak supplied a pair of kills in the final moments for the Monks while the Lynx also committed a pair of errors.
St. Joseph's fell behind 9-7 early in the third set before going on a 6-0 run and never looking back as they sprinted to the 25-16 set win to close out the match 3-0. Wachowiak again was the big hitter for the Monks as she knocked down five kills in the final set.
The Lynx will now kick off a four-match road trip starting on Tuesday when they travel to Eastern Nazarene College at 7:00p for a non-conference match. Conversely, the Monks will start a four-match home stand on Tuesday when they play host to Colby College. First serve for that match is also slated for 7:00p.
