BOSTON, Mass. – The Lesley University women's volleyball team split the day at a tri-match with Wentworth Institute of Technology and Worcester State University today on the Leopards campus. The Lynx downed the host Leopards 3-1 in the first match of the day before dropping a tough five-setter to the Lancers in the second match.
The Lynx will return home on Tuesday when they host Emmanuel College in non-conference action at 8p at the Nicholas Athletics Center.
Match One: Lesley 3, Wentworth 1
After dropping the opening set, Lesley went onto capture the second, third and fourth stanzas to claim a non-conference win against the Leopards by scores of 18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-13. Sophomore Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) paced the visitors with nine kills, while tallying 10 digs, and one service ace. Senior Jess Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) registered a team-high 15 digs, while classmate Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) recorded a 28 assists.
Leopard senior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) posted a double-double of 13 kills and 13 digs, while sophomore Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) recorded 24 assists to go along with eight digs and a trio of service aces. Freshman Sarah Hyndman (Encinitas, Calif.) had six kills, three aces, and junior Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) registered three kills.
Both teams kept things close in the opening session, but a service error late in the stanza resulted in a five-point surge for the Leopards who went onto capture the initial set. Lesley and Wentworth remained close throughout a majority of the second set with neither team pushing ahead by more than one or two points. Lesley sophomore Sarah Hollis (Hudson, Mass.) clinched the second set with back-to-back kills late in the frame, which evened the match at one apiece.
Abbruzzese kept momentum on Lesley's side as the third set commenced, recording her team's first kill, which led to a seven-point surge. Lesley's 7-1 cushion was evened over the next few serves as a pair of serving aces by Carlson evened the score at 8-8. The Lynx responded with a pair of three-point runs to push ahead, 18-11, but Wentworth stormed back following an attack error that brought the hosts within six points (24-18). Reynolds ended the comeback with a kill set-up by Marden.
Lesley again claimed an early lead in the fourth set, jumping out to a 10-4 advantage following an attack error by Bailey. Wentworth did trim the deficit off two serving errors; however, Lesley regrouped, utilizing a 12-6 run mid-way through the set.
Worcester State 3, Lesley 2
Trailing, 2-1, heading into the fourth stanza, Worcester State rallied back, evening the match at two games apiece before senior Meghan Deighan (Lynnfield, Mass.) secured the win with a kill over the middle. The Lancers defeated the Lynx by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18, 15-11.
Worcester State junior Jamika Townsend (Virginia Beach, Va.) recorded 48 assists, along with 17 digs, eight kills and three aces. Senior Jennifer Cabral (Swansea, Mass.) had 15 kills and hit .268, while junior Valerie Hoyle (Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied 10 kills and hit .273.
Marden paced the Lynx with 39 assists, but also tallied 15 digs, four kills and one serving ace. Abbruzzese led Lesley with 14 kills and recorded seven digs, and senior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Penn.) recorded a team-high 21 digs.
Worcester State never trailed in the fourth stanza, jumping out to an 8-3 lead following a service ace by freshman Emily Carens (Northboro, Mass.). Lesley trimmed the deficit with three consecutive points off a trio of serves by senior Anthea Rathjens (Sudbury, Mass.) to pull within one point. Both teams swapped points over the next few serves before a kill by Hoyle late in the session helped the Lancers even the match.
The Lancers' momentum continued early in the fifth set as Worcester State jumped out to a 5-1 lead off a quartet of serves by Townsend. Lesley did close the gap as both teams swapped points over the next few serves, but the Lynx's comeback was short-lived as Townsend set up Deighan for the game-winning kill.
Release courtesy Wentworth Sports Information Department