CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Lesley University (4-9, 2-0 NECC) overcame an opening set loss to defeat visiting Mitchell College (5-8, 2-1 NECC) 3-1 Sunday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball play at the Nicholas Athletics Center.

            Lynx outside hitter Kaitlyn Miller (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) led all players with a career-high 14 kills, fellow senior Megan Ortwein (Easton, PA/Shanghai American) followed with 10 and Danielle Johnson (Waterford, CT/Waterford) added nine on a team-best .389 hitting percentage. Defensively, Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, PA/Manheim Township) got down for a match-high 23 digs as Lesley held on to a share of first place in the NECC.

            For the Mariners, Kendra Erskine (Bronx, NY/Saint Raymond) totaled 11 kills on a match-best .400 average, and Arianna Thomas (Fresno, CA/Clovis) and Gloria Charles (New Haven, CT/Hillhouse) tied for team high honors with 22 digs.

            Mitchell used a 9-3 run to take an early 9-6 lead in Game 1, and back-to-back Thomas kills extended the lead to 16-12 in the Mariners 25-20 victory. The visitors got off to another encouraging start in the second set, taking a 10-6 lead before consecutive Ortwein kills started a 5-0 Lynx run in which Lesley tied the game at 17-17, took a 20-17 advantage and went on to win 25-21.

            The teams exchanged early leads in Game 3, with a kill from Mitchell's Amanda Garcia (New Britain, CT/New Britain) tying the set at 7-7. Back-to- back attack errors from Thomas sparked a 6-0 Lynx run, with two more Ortwein kills helping send the Lynx in front 13-7, and Lesley would lead by as many as eight in its 25-21 Game 3 victory.

            The Lynx opened up another 13-7 lead in the finale, this time thanks to a Johnson kill off of one of freshman Donna Niosi's (Quincy, MA/Quincy) match-high 35 set assists. A Miller ball handling error later brought the Mariners back to within one, forcing a Lesley timeout, but a 5-0 run with Johnson at serve opened up a 22-16 Lesley lead, and the  Lynx went on to win 25-18.

            On the match, Lesley hit .193 as a team, holding Mitchell to a .039 average in spite of Erskine's match-best performance. For Lesley, Miller also totaled a season-high 20 digs, her third straight match in double figures, completing her first double-double of 2012.

            Lesley returns to the court on Wednesday, playing host to Regis College in NECC action at 8:00 p.m.