SALEM, Mass. –  The Lesley University women's volleyball team dropped a pair of tightly played matches in their first tri-match of the season at Salem State University. The Lynx fell to the host Vikings 3-0 with set scores of 25-22, 29-27, and 27-25 before falling to UMass Dartmouth in straight sets 25-20, 25-18, and 25-15.

The Lynx will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night when they return home to the Nicholas Athletics Center and host Eastern Nazarene College in a non-conference affair. First serve is set for 8:00p.

Match One: Salem State 3, Lesley 0
Box Score

Lesley junior Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) led the Lynx with six kills and nine digs while classmate Anni Abbrzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) earned six kills and 12 digs. Senior setter Vera Bednar (Helmond, Netherlands) added 18 assists for the visitors.  

Salem State freshman Haley Reed (Goffstown, N.H.) led the Vikings with 11 kills and added 17 digs while recording three aces. Emily Hennessy (Hanover, Mass.) contributed with nine kills and four digs while Hannah Mullarkey (Salem, Mass.) added 18 digs and Sara Corey (Whatley, Mass) finished with 19 assists.

The Lynx led late in the opening set, 22-19, but a Lesley service error followed by a Hennessy kill ignited a 6-0 run to cap the first 25-22 in favor of the Vikings.

Lesley twice was just one point away from knotting the match at 11 as they led 24-22 and 27-26, but each time the hosts had an answer and ended the set with another Hennessy kill before a Lynx attack error.

Once again the Lynx held a late lead and led 24-21 in game three. Reed would knock down two big kills down the stretch and positioned the Vikings to tie the game at 25, allowing Salem State to complete the comeback with a 27-25 victory.

Match Two: UMass Dartmouth 3, Lesley 0
Box Score

Once again Deluga powered the Lynx attack with a team-high eight kills to go with ten digs while Abbruzzese finished with 13 digs and six kills. Bednar added a pair of kills and ten assists and junior Sarah Hollis (Hudson, Mass.) chipped in with a trio of kills.

Anita Sengara (Vancouver, British Columbia) led UMass Dartmouth registering 10 kills, including seven in the deciding set, and eight digs. Jillian Sykora (Waterford, Conn.) tallied a match-high 20 digs while Jordan Rittberger (Huntington, N.Y.) contributed 20 assists.

The Lynx battled back from an early deficit in game one. Trailing 16-12, Lesley went on a 7-3 spurt to even the set at 19-19, but the Corsairs answered back with six straight points to claim a 25-19 opening game.

The second set was tight through and two consecutive kills from Deluga brought the Lynx to within one, 18-17, but once again UMass Dartmouth closed the set out with a late run, registering five of the final six points to take a 2-0 match lead.

The Corsairs continued that momentum in the third and opened a 15-5 lead before closing out the match with a 25-15 final set victory.

Portions of this release courtesy Salem State Sports Information