CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University women's volleyball was delivered their first New England Collegiate Conference blemish as Daniel Webster College downed the Lynx 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-23) tonight at the Nicholas Athletics Center. Junior Hannah Koehler (Bedford, N.H.) led all players with 16 kills on a .556 hitting percentage to lift the Eagles 17-7 on the season and 5-1 in NECC play. The Lynx fall to 7-12 on the season and 4-1 in conference matches.
Koehler was aided by senior Brooke Marcotte (Nashua, N.H.) who added eight kills while swinging .350 on the night and junior Amanda Gendron (Mont Vernon, N.H.) finished with five kills for the visitors. Junior setter Nicole Beard (Shelton, Conn.) set up the offense, dishing out a match-best 34 assists while senior Madeline Roulier (Pittsfield, Mass.) anchored the Eagle defense with 14 digs.
Junior Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) powered the hosts with ten kills to go with seven digs and two service aces. Classmate Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) finished with seven kills and a team-high 14 digs while senior Jess Reynolds (Londonderry, N.H.) added five kills and ten digs. Junior Allie Charron (Barnstable, Mass.) and senior Vera Bednar (Helmond, Netherlands) split setting duties with 12 and 11 assists, respectively.
The Lynx would score the first three points of the opening set before later grabbing a 15-13 lead on a Deluga serve. A trio of Lesley errors would spark a 9-2 run capped by kills from Gendron and Beard to give the Eagles a 22-17 edge. The Lynx would rally and pull back within one, 24-23, but a slam by junior Rebecca Hoffman (Andover, Mass.) would end the Lesley spurt and give Daniel Webster a 25-23 first set victory.
The Eagles would carry the momentum they built midway through the first and carry it over into the second set as Gendron served DWC to a 9-2 lead before running away with the set 25-16. Koehler powered the Eagle attack with six kills on a .455 hitting percentage in the set.
Daniel Webster would build up a 21-13 lead in the third set before the Lesley offense would get in gear and use a 10-2 streak punctuated by an Abbruzzese ace to pull within one, 24-23. The Eagles would bounce back and end the match on a Marcotte kill from the left side to complete the 3-0 sweep.
Lesley will look return to their winning ways when they travel to Southern Vermont College for an NECC battle at 5:30p. Daniel Webster, winners of nine of their last ten, will also be back in action on Saturday with a tri-match at Westfield State.