SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team was in action on Saturday, hosting the University of Saint Joseph and Bridgewater State University at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. The Lyons posted a 3-1 victory – their first of 2014 - over USJ before falling 3-1 despite a hard-fought third set win against the Bears. The middle match saw Bridgewater post a 3-2 victory over the BlueJays.
Match one saw the homestanding Lyons come out firing, taking the first (25-10) and second (26-24) sets, but the visitors battled back to pull things even in the third. In a close match, the BlueJays began to gain the lead after junior Tiffany Mapusaga (Waianae, Hawaii/Waianae) helped USJ to four straight points, including three service aces in a row to make it a 16-12 advantage.
The Lyons tried to climb back into the set, but a pair of kills down the stretch from Mapusaga helped seal the set. In the fourth set, MHC once again found itself down, but battled back in a big way. Down 23-21, junior Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) nailed a key kill to move MHC to one (23-22). A subsequent kill by first year Katrina Meserve (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) tied the action at 23-all and the Lyons took advantage of a setting error by the BlueJays and a final kill by Sweeting to win the match.
Sweeting finished with 18 kills and 18 digs, while senior Kaleen Iwema (Wadsworth, Ill./Warren Township) added six kills and nine digs. Sophomore Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va./Flint Hill School) posted a match-high 25 assists to go with 11 digs. For Saint Joseph, Mapusaga had 17 kills with four service aces and 15 digs, while senior Megan Williams (Lakeville, Conn./Housatonic Regional) had a match-best 25 assists.
The middle match of the day was a back-and-forth affair which saw Saint Joseph take the opening set (25-22) before Bridgewater stormed back for wins in the second (25-21) and third (25-16) sets. The BlueJays didn't back down, battling in the fourth set to grab the 25-23 win and force a fifth and deciding set.
Bridgewater opened the final frame quickly, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but USJ quickly made things interesting as six straight points, including several setting errors and a service ace from junior Emily Vigue (Lebanon, Conn./Lyman Memorial) made it an 11-11 score. The Bears finally pulled away from a 13-all tie after an error and the fifth service ace of the match for sophomore Charleyne Panner (Gilford, N.H./Gilford).
Sophomore Clara Goncalves (Dennis, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) led a players with 20 kills. Classmate Hannah Maymon (Narragansett, R.I./Narragansett) added 16 kills, while senior Lisa Vega (Milford, Mass./Milford) had 23 digs and Panner chipped in with a match-best 46 assists. For USJ, Mapusaga had 18 kills and 11 digs, senior Ciara Perez (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) added 15 kills, while Williams had 40 assists
The final match of the day saw Bridgewater State post victory in the first set (25-17) and edge past the Lyons in the second set (25-23). Mount Holyoke staged a comeback in the third set and took advantage right from the start as a kill from Iwema gave the Lyons a 7-3 edge. It was a lead that MHC would not relinquish as seven kills from that score by Sweeting lifted the Lyons to a 25-20 third set win.
Bridgewater State came from behind once again in the fourth set when, after being down 9-3 at one point, the Bears took advantage of four straight errors by the Lyons to make it a 14-13 game. MHC once again built up a solid lead, going up 18-14 on a kill from Iwema, but a pair of kills from Bennett and a set tying strike from Maymon made it an 18-all score. The Bears took advantage of a service error to take their first lead and two kills from Maymon on the final plays sealed the 25-21 set win and the match victory for BSU.
Sweeting posted a match-best 19 kills with 11 digs, while Iwema – the current all-time leader in digs at MHC – added 11 more on the day and now has 995 in her career. Lyon added 32 assists and 11 digs. Bridgewater State saw Maymon finish with 15 kills, while Goncalves had 13 kills. Panner finished with a match-best 40 assists with 11 digs, while senior Sarah Mullarkey (Salem, Mass./Salem) had a match-high 18 digs.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Tuesday, hosting MCLA at 7pm. Bridgewater State hosts Daniel Webster on Wednesday at 7pm, while Saint Joseph is also in action on Wednesday at Mitchell for a 7pm contest.
