CAMBRIDGE, MA – Lesley University held leads of four and eight points in the second and third sets, and earned its way to game point in the third, but the Nighthawks rallied each time, taking care of the Lynx in three sets (25-19, 25-19, 26-24) in New England Collegiate Conference men's volleyball play Friday night at the Nicholas Athletics Center.
Newbury's Danny Kim (Plainview, NY/Plainview JFK) led all players with 14 kills, and Chris Chin added 11 kills on 23 attempts for a match-best .391 hitting percentage. Nighthawks sophomore Cody Braden (Fairgrove, MO/Fairgrove) put up match-highs of 40 assists and 12 digs as Newbury improved to 4-7 overall and 2-3 in NECC play.
For Lesley, senior outside hitter Christian Domingo (Los Angeles, CA/College of Canyons) led the way with 10 kills on 37 tries, and Brian Hicks (Lowell, MA/Lowell) added five on 14 swings with only one error for a .286 average, leading the defense with 11 digs. Team blocks leader Max Hoevenaar (Orlando, FL/Castle Christian) chipped in with a pair of solo blocks to go along with seven digs and six kills as the Lynx fell to 1-11, 1-5 in the NECC.
Lesley overcame a 10-2 hole to start the night by way of a 7-0 run with Domingo serving that featured three Kim errors, pulling the Lynx to within 14-13. Newbury answered, scoring five of the last seven to pull off a 25-19 opening set win.
A Hoevenaar ace put Lesley up 7-4, and two Kim errors later found the Lynx ahead 11-7 in the middle set. An 8-1 Nighthawks run capped by two Chi Yin Li (Framingham, MA/Framingham) kills turned around a one-point deficit and put Newbury on top 19-14 before a Kim kill and Braden service ace crowned another 25-19 victory.
Two kills each from Domingo and Hoevenaar help send the Lynx out to a 12-5 lead in the third set, and Lesley later led by as many as eight, at 17-9. With the Lynx ahead 23-21, five different Nighthawks earned kills, including two for Li, who tied the set at 24-24. He then assisted to Justin Franks (Mamaroneck, NY/Rye Neck) and Kim on consecutive points to pull of the match-ending comeback, 26-24.
As a team, the Hawks hit .214 (48-23-117), while Lesley hit .161 (22-8-87).
Lesley returns to play at Newbury on March 20, while Newbury takes on MIT on March 17.
