CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's volleyball team captured a pair of victories and remained perfect in New England Collegiate Conference at a tri-match hosted by Elms College this afternoon in Chicopee, Mass. The Lynx cruised by the Blazers 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-20) to improve to 2-0 in conference play before outlasting Castleton State College 3-2 (25-11, 25-15, 24-26, 21-25, 15-12) in a non-conference match to jump to 5-10 overall on the season.
The Lynx will return to Cambridge for a two-match homestand starting on Tuesday when they look
to remain perfect in NECC play when they play host to Mitchell College at 8:00p on Tuesday night.
Match One: Lesley 3, Elms 0
Box Score
Lesley University junior Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) posted her third double-double in the last four matches and filled the stat sheet with 20 kills, 12 digs, three aces, and a pair of blocks. She was also hot from the floor as her 20 kills came on 35 attempts without an error for a .571 hitting percentage. Fellow junior Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) earned her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season-high 22 digs while swinging a season-best .258. Freshman Wing Li (Quincy, Mass.) dug out a career-high 18 balls on the defensive end while senior Vera Bednar (Helmonds, Netherlands) dished out a personal-best 37 assists on offense.
The first set was all Lesley as they cruised to a 25-13 set win. Deluga was the main cog in the offense with nine kills on a .692 swing percentage in the opener while Abbruzzese added five for the visitors. As a team, the Lynx hit .419 while keeping the Blazers to a .050 percentage.
Elms scored seven of the first eight points in the second set and later led 21-14 before Deluga and the Lynx would storm back to take a 2-0 match lead with a 11-2 streak. The junior would ignite the rally with four straight kills before capping the set with two consecutive service aces.
The Blazers would take an early lead once again in the third set and hold a slim 11-9 lead over the Lynx. Lesley would respond by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to jump ahead 20-13. Elms would claw their way back to within three, 23-20, but the Lynx would score the next two points to close out the set 25-20.
Match Two: Lesley 3, Castleton St. 2
Box Score
Once again it was Deluga leading the charge for the Lynx as she knocked down 20 kills on a .291 swing percentage as the Lynx outlasted the Spartans 3-2. Deluga was also a menace on the defensive end as she dug up a team-high 20 balls and added five solo blocks and one block assist. Fellow senior Jessica Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) set a new career-high with 31 digs while Bednar reset her career-high mark from match one and dished out 38 assists. Junior Sarah Hollis (Hudson, Mass.) buried 11 kills and Abbruzzese added seven kills, five aces, and 17 digs.
After taking the first two sets by scores of 25-11 and 25-15, the Lynx held a late lead in the third set to set up a potential sweep of the Sparks. Lesley held a 22-21 lead before went on a 5-1 run aided by a pair of kills by Maria Jackson and Cassidy Tedeschi, to cut the Lynx match lead in half, 2-1.
The Lynx built up a 20-13 advantage in the fourth set but the Spartans had another late run in them and pulled within one, 23-22. A bad Castleton set would bring the Lynx to within one of securing the match, but three straight points by the Spartans gave them a 26-24 set victory and force a fifth set.
With the score knotted at 9-9 in the fifth, Deluga took over and scored three straight points with a block and two consecutive kills. A Hollis kill would cap the match as the Lynx secure a two-win day with a 15-10 fifth set triumph.