THE BASICS 
Match 1: Lesley University, 0 vs Maine Maritime Academy, 3 (25-5, 25-10, 25-6)
Match 2: Lesley University, 0 vs Maine Maritime Academy, 3 (25-4, 25-7, 25-8)

Records: 
Maine Maritime Academy Mariners (9-8, 5-0 NAC)
Lesley University Lynx (0-12, 0-6 NAC)

Location: Lexington, Mass. – Minuteman HS Gymnasium

Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024

THE LEAD—The Lesley University women's volleyball team continued North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play by hosting Maine Maritime Academy for a Saturday doubleheader. Unfortunately, the Lynx fell short in both matchups. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 1)

• Mariah Febo (Boston, Mass.) opened up the scoring as the sophomore notched an ace. Both sides went back and forth early on, and despite the Mariners being up 3-1, Lesley came back to tie things at three courtesy of a Renee Hatch (Norway, Maine) ace. 
• However, the Mariners reclaimed the momentum and stormed ahead with a 12-2 run for their first double-digit lead of the morning (15-5). Katie Albritton led the way during the offensive burst, scoring seven of the Mariners' 12 points. 
• After Albritton committed a serving error to give Lesley its fifth point, Maine Maritime Academy closed the opening set on a 10-0 run for the 25-5 win. 
• In set two, the Mariners raced out to an early 8-3 lead, but the Lynx cut the deficit to two (8-6) highlighted by a Shae Thomas (Clayton, N.C.) ace. 
• Lesley continued to keep things close. The squad capitalized on a service error from the Mariners, making it 10-8. Despite being down two, Maine Maritime Academy pulled away courtesy of a 15-2 burst for a 25-10 set two win. Grace Jennings and Ila Smith led the Mariners closing run with three kills each. 
• Thanks to an ace from Estephany Morales (New York, N.Y.), set three was tied at two early on. But similar to the day's theme for the Mariners' offense, the visitors pulled away again with another massive run, courtesy of a 23-4 outburst, for the opening match win, 25-6. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Match 1)

• A key factor was Maine Maritime's advantage in service aces, which totaled 22. Individually, Grace Jennings led the way with 13. 
• Two Mariners ended the morning with double-digit assists led by Albritton's 17, followed by Ally Hadley with 12. 
• For the Lynx, Thomas led the offensive attack with two kills and notched an assist. 
• Korinne Hall-Johnson (North Brunswick, N.J.) and Thomas each had a team-high four digs in the opening match. 

HOW IT HAPPENED (Match 2)

• After the Mariners opened the second match with three straight points, Lesley cut the lead to two (3-1) after capitalizing on a Maine Maritime setting error. 
• However, the Mariners did not let the Lynx get any closer when the visitors scored 11 straight points, making it 14-1. Sydney Williams played a vital role in that scoring burst as she was behind seven of the 11 points. 
• While Lesley broke up the run thanks to another Mariners error, Maine Maritime closed set one with an 11-3 run for a 25-4 win. 
• Continuing their momentum from set one, Maine Maritime Academy opened set two with a 9-0 run before Thomas halted the scoring with a kill.
• But despite the Thomas kill, the Mariners went on a 6-0 run (16-1) before Lesley called a timeout.
• Immediately after the timeout, Lesley registered two straight points, including a block assist from Hannah Kurkul (Dayton, Maine) and Thomas. Despite the two quick points, the Mariners finished set two with a 9-4 run for a 25-7 win. 
• Once again, Maine Maritime opened up the final set scoring the first seven points before Lesley took advantage of a Mariners attack error. 
• Lesley kept things under ten after a kill from Alawnah Dunda (Fort Ann, N.Y.), and a Mariners error made it 12-3. Unfortunately, Maine Maritime once again closed the match on a scoring run by finishing the final set on a 13-5 outburst for a 25-8 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (Match 2)

• Albritton paced the offense as the senior dished out 19 of the Mariners 23 assists and chipped in two kills. 
• On the attack, two Mariners had five or more kills, led by Smith and Jennings, who had eight and five, respectively.
• Lesley's offense was led by Thomas, who notched three kills and a service ace. 
• Hall-Johnson recorded ten digs on the day, marking the fourth time this year that she has had ten or more digs. 

UP NEXT

• Lesley kicks off a six-game road trip with a nonconference matchup at Fisher College on Wednesday, October 16, at 7 p.m.