CAMBRIDGE, MA – Lesley University improved to 17-9 overall and 6-1 in New England Collegiate Conference play by taking 3-0 victories from Elms College and Southern Vermont on Saturday.
Elms (7-19, 3-4 NECC) bested Southern Vermont (14-7, 4-3 NECC), 3-2 in the middle match.
Match 1
In the opening match, Lesley jumped out to a 12-6 advantage in Game 1, with its .450 hitting percentage compared to six attack errors from the Blazers leading to the Lynx 25-19 victory.
Elms opened up an 8-6 lead in the second set, but Lesley's Kate Miller (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill) countered with a string of six consecutive service aces to put Lesley back on top, 15-8. Her streak was part of a 13-1 run saw the Lynx go ahead 19-9 in its 25-15 victory. Miller totaled 15 assists in the set, while Meaghan Chadwick (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) celebrated Senior Day by adding four kills in the first set.
A string of four consecutive Amanda McCracken (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) kills turned an 11-9 deficit into a 16-11 Lynx lead in Game 3, and the Lynx went on to another 25-15 victory. McCracken led all players with 15 kills with only two errors in 24 attempts (.542) on the match.
For the Blazers, Stacy Croteau (Agwam, MA/Agwam) led the way with seven kills, while Melissa Clark (Chicopee, MA/Comprehensive) followed with six.
Match 2
The second match of the day spanned nearly two hours, with Elms squeaking out a 3-2 victory over Southern Vermont.
In Game 1, as it did twice in its loss to the Lynx, Elms squandered an early lead, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage but falling 25-23. Unlike its earlier match, the Blazers rebounded against the Mountaineers, rallying to tie the match 1-1 with a 25-21 victory in Game 2. Croteau totaled 10 kills on 28 attempts through two sets, with Jenn Rego (Fall River, MA/Diman) handing out 11 assists.
The Blazers battled out a 28-26 victory in the middle set, this time overcoming a 13-10 Southern Vermont lead. Croteau added six kills in the win, with Rego chipping in with seven digs. For the Mountaineers, Ashley Veliz (Glendale, CA/Glendale College) upped her kill total for the match to eight, while Hershey Canta (Bataan, Philippines/Glendale College) and Sarah Golub (Groton, CT/Fitch) tallied their 15th and 14th digs, respectively.
Facing a 2-1 match deficit, Joshua Stokes' Mountaineers responded in a big way, sprinting out of the gate to a 14-4 lead in a 25-17 victory. Veliz was the difference, throwing down, five early kills, while Hogue added four more in the win.
The Mountaineers looked on pace to take the deciding set, opening up an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. The resilient Blazers responded, scoring four straight to take a 10-6 lead. A Croteau kill broke a 15-15 tie, and a Galub kill error sent Elms on to a hard-fought 3-2 win, taking Game 5 17-15.
For the match, Croteau led all players with 21 kills, while Rego added 27 kills to Croteau's 25. Ashley Fuller (Amherst, MA/Regional) led the Blazers with a match-best 40 assists.
Hogue paced the Mountaineers with 14 kills, as Veliz followed with 13. Canta, meanwhile, posted 29 assists and 25 digs.
Match 3
In the night cap, the Lynx opened early leads in every set of its 3-0 shutout of Southern Vermont.
Lesley jumped out to a 6-3 advantage on four McCracken kills in the opener. The Mountaineers rallied to tie the score 17-17, but another of McCracken's seven kills of the set broke the tie in the Lynx 25-22 victory. Also enjoying a productive Senior Day, Kaitlyn Wechsler (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) threw in three kills.
The middle set saw the Lynx open with four straight points with sophomore Megan Ortwein (Shanghai, China/American School) at serve. The Lynx extended their lead to 18-11, forcing Stokes' second timeout, but Lesley coasted to win 25-17.
Ortwein led the Lynx with seven digs in the set, while Golub led all players with eight. McCracken threw down six more kills, and Hogue added four more for the Mountaineers.
Game 3 started with a 10-3 Lynx run capped by a Kayla Henry (Saratoga Springs, NY/Central Catholic) service ace. Southern Vermont cut the lead to 15-13 on back-to-back kills from Veliz, opening what would be the team's widest lead at 18-15 on a Hershey Canta ace.
The Lynx countered with a 4-0 run, crowned fittingly on a McCracken kill, to go ahead 19-18. The Mountaineers took their latest lead at 21-20 on an McCracken kill error, but the sophomore accounted for it with a kill to tie the set 21-21.
From there, Lesley's seniors duo took over. After the Lynx took a 23-21 lead on a Chadwick ace, Wechsler put down the match- and game-winning kill, as Lesley won, 25-23.
McCracken's line is as dominant as her performance was in person, as she scorched 23 kills with zero errors on 37 attempts, good for a .622 hitting percentage. Kate Miller led all players with 33 assists, and Ortwein posted a match-high 15 digs.
For Southern Vermont, Hogue had nine kills, made possible by Canta's 18 assists. Veliz and Hogue totaled 14 and 13 assists, respectively.
At 17-9 and 6-1 in NECC play, Lesley's win ensures a second-place finish, which locks up a bye for the first round of the NECC Playoffs. Southern Vermont wraps up its regular season 13-8 and 4-3 in the NECC.
