STANDISH, Maine – The Lesley University women's volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2014 season, picking up a pair of 3-0 wins today in a tri-match with St. Joseph's College (Me.) and Mt. Ida College hosted by the Monks. The Lynx, winners of four in a row, now sit at 4-1 on the season. St. Joseph's, who defeated Mt. Ida 3-0 in the last match of the afternoon moves to 4-5 on the season while the Mustangs fall to 3-6 after the pair of losses on the day.
The Lynx defeated the Monks 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22) in the tightly contested opening match of the morning. Freshmen Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) led the Lynx offense with eight kills while classmate Ciara Bruning (Centerville, Mass.) chipped in with six kills of her own.
Junior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) anchored with defense with 17 digs while Jessie Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) finished with 15. Fellow junior Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) matched her career-high with 25 assists.
The Lynx held a 20-16 edge late in the first set but the hosts put together a 4-0 run to knot things at 20-20. After exchanging a pair of points, Lesley scored three of the next four points to take the 25-23 win.
Lesley held a 14-10 advantage in the second set before they went on a 4-1 spurt to extend the lead to 18-11 before rolling to the 25-18 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lynx jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third, but the hosts answered with a 9-2 run to jump ahead 11-9. The Monks' lead did not last long as the Lynx rode Bruning's serve to five straight points to reclaim a 14-11 advantage before closing out the match with a 25-22 third set victory.
Abbruzzese once again led the offense in the second match of the afternoon, slamming home six kills in the 3-0 (25-13, 25-4, 25-16) triumph over the Mustangs. Bruning finished with three kills and Reynolds chipped in with a pair of her own.
The Lynx were continually helped out by Mustang errors, as Mt. Ida struggled to just a -.240 hitting percentage on the day.
Lesley will be back in action on Saturday, September 20th when they head to Wentworth Institute of Technology for a tri-match with the Leopards and the Lancers of Worcester State University. First match is slated to start at 11:00.