SPRINGFIELD, MA – Lesley University’s 2010 run that saw the team win five straight matches en route to a New England Collegiate Conference championship and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance has come to a close Friday evening, as the Lynx fell 3-0 to Amherst College in the teams’ NCAA First Round match-up at Blake Arena.

            NECC Player of the Year Amanda McCracken (Eldersburg, MD/Liberty) led Lesley with 11 kills to only two errors in 19 attempts, good for a remarkable .474 hitting percentage, adding Lesley’s only solo block. Sophomore All-NECC Honorable Mention Kaitlyn Miller (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill) again played the role of distributor, tossing up 19 assists in the loss.

            Freshman libero Caitlin Vandenburgh (Swansea, MA/Joseph Case) paced the Lynx defense, leading all players with a match-best 13 digs as she was peppered by an Amherst attack that hit 33 kills to only four errors in 66 attempts.

             The No. 1 seed Lord Jeffs  took control from the early going and seldom looked back, topping the No. 8 seed Lynx in three sets, 25-9, 25-10 and 25-13. The Lord Jeffs got off to a 6-0 lead in the opening set before a Meaghan Chadwick (Chelmsford, MA/Chelmsford) kill got the Lynx on the board. A TJ Hajjar timeout trailing 9-2 could do little to halt the No. 1 team in the New England Region in its 25-9 victory.

            Amherst hit an overpowering .364 for the set, while Lesley struggled to a -.067 clip led by McCracken’s three kills in five attempts. Vandenburgh added five digs in the set.

            Lesley took its first lead of the night on Miller’s service ace to open Game 2, and a Chadwick kill increased the lead to 3-1 moments later. After Amherst tied the game 3-3, back-to-back Ortwein kills regained the Lynx the lead at 5-4. A 9-2 Lynx run put the Jeffs up 13-7 en route to a 25-10 win, hitting a sizzling .405 through two sets.

            A McCracken kill and Amherst error gave Lesley another two-point lead to open the final set, and then again at 4-2. After McCracken’s eighth kill of the match, a Miller kill gave Lesley its largest lead at 6-3.

            Kills from Kaitlyn Wechsler’s (Merrick, NY/Our Lady Mercy) put Lesley up for what would be the last time in her career at 8-7, but Amherst ran off an 8-0 run with Jackie Berkley at serve to go up 15-8 in its 25-13 victory.

            McCracken, who emerged as the premier net presence in the league, finishes a sophomore season that three times saw her named NECC Player of the Week as the league leader with over 4.4 kills per set and a hitting percentage of better than .420. Miller, meanwhile, led the circuit in assists at eight per set.