EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. – Lesley University battled past Bay Path University 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22) to improve to a perfect 4-0 in New England Collegiate Conference play this afternoon in East Longmeadow, Mass. Winners of four of their last five, Lesley improves to 7-11 overall on the season. The Wildcats saw their three-game winning streak come to a close as they fall to 7-8 on the year.

Lesley was led by junior Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) who buried 15 kills on a .429 swinging percentage to go along with three aces, four digs, and two block assists. Classmate Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) added 12 kills while hitting .250 while also adding seven digs, four aces, and one solo block. Freshman Kelsey Dobbins (Henniker, N.H.) and junior Sarah Hollis (Hudson, Mass.) each added six kills while senior Vera Bednar (Helmond, Netherlands) doled out 31 assists. Freshman Wing Li (Quincy, Mass.) anchored the defense with a match-high 12 digs.

Bay Path junior Lauren Vallee (Bristol, Conn.) paced the hosts with 15 kills and eight digs while hitting .250 for the match. Fellow junior Ashlee Connors (Springfield, Mass.) and senior Paige Marshall (New Britain, Conn.) added six kills apiece while sophomore setter Lexi Cears (Agawam, Mass.) handed out a match-best 32 assists.

After the two sides split the opening two sets, the Lynx began to take control in the third. Holding a slim 11-9, the Lynx would ride the service of senior Jess Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) on a 5-0 spurt to open up a 16-9 edge. Bay Path would answer with a 9-5 run to pull within three, 21-18, but a Deluga kill would spark a 3-0 spurt for the Lynx before taking the a 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 third set win.

The fourth set was a game of runs and Lesley appeared to be coasting to a victory with a 23-15 lead. Bay Path would not go away that easy and go on a 7-0 run anchored by the serve of senior Jennifer Pham (Springfield, Mass.) to pull within one 23-22. A Dobbins spike would break up the streak before Abbruzzese followed with a kill of her own to notch Lesley fourth conference victory.

The Lynx will return to NECC play on Tuesday night in a battle with Daniel Webster College (16-7, 4-1 NECC) at 8:00p.