CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Lesley University sophomore Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) knocked down a match-high 14 kills while swinging at a .433 clip to power the Lynx past Newbury College 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-20) in New England Collegiate Conference Women's Volleyball action tonight at the Nicholas Athletics Center.
The win improves Lesley to 13-7 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the NECC while the loss drops the Nighthawks to 12-8 and 4-1 in conference play.
Fellow sophomore Ciara Bruning (Centerville, Mass.) aided the Lynx offense with eight kills with a .400 hitting percentage while classmate Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) delivered seven kills and ten digs. Senior setter Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) doled out a match-best 32 assists while senior libero Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) anchored the defense with 12 digs.
Newbury junior Courtney Banks (Corona, Calif.) finished with a team-high 13 kills while hitting at .345 on the night while sophomore Maya Umoren (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with nine kills to go with her nine digs. Junior Kataya Sykes (Brockton, Mass.) added five kills while sophomore Marlen Reynoso (Springdale, Ark.) dished out 28 assists.
The Lynx swung a collective .214 on the night while holding their counterparts to just a .084 percentage. The hosts also held an advantage in kills (39-31), digs (46-44), serving aces (4-3), and total blocks (8-3).
Newbury held a lead throughout the majority of the first set until the Lynx used a 6-0 run late to claim a 21-18 edge. The Nighthawks would not go down easy however, as a Banks ace put the guests up 24-23. Lesley answered with three straight kills, capped by Deluga's fifth of the set to stake a 1-0 match lead with the 26-24 opening set win.
The second set was tight to start until the Lynx went on a 5-0 spurt sparked by an Abbruzzese slam to take a 15-9 edge. The Nighthawks would pull to within three, 18-15, following a brief 3-0 run of their own powered by two Banks slams but the Lynx would hold off their guests with a 25-19 second set win.
Lesley continued their momentum and never trailed in the third and final set as they claimed a 25-20 victory to earn the 3-0 match sweep.
The Lynx will return home on Sunday when they face Southern Vermont College in a NECC bout at 12:00p while the Nighthawks will host Regis College on Saturday at 1:00p.