SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Junior outside hitter Katrina Meserve notched a game-best 10 kills to lead the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team past Elms College, 3-0 (25-8, 25-12, 25-8) in non-conference action on Thursday evening. The victory moves the Lyons to 3-11 on the season, while the Blazers slip to 4-13 overall.
In addition to Meserve (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth), who committed just two errors on 13 swings, the Lyons saw sophomore middle hitter Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) add nine kills with two service aces and seven digs. First year middle hitter Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont./Cameron Heights Colleg. Institute) was perfect on all six swings for six kills, while also adding four block assists. Senior captain and setter Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va./Flint Hill School) posted a match-high 27 assists with a match-best six service aces.
For Elms, first year outside hitter Hannah Adams (Deerfield, Mass./Frontier) posted five kills with two digs and a block assist. Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, N.V./Bishop Gorman) had three kills, while senior setter Carolyn Campbell (Millers Falls, Mass./Turners Falls) notched nine assists.
The Lyons came out firing in the opening set, cruising to an 11-2 behind multiple Elms errors' coupled with kills from three different players, including two from Meserve. The Blazers saw Adams lay down a kill to pull the score to 13-4, but the Lyons went on a 6-0 run to make it a 21-5 advantage. Allen helped close out the set, laying down a kill before earning match point with a service ace.
In the second set, the Blazers worked to keep things close as Adams put down a strike to close it to an 8-5 deficit for the visitors, but the Lyons came storming back as errors continued to plague Elms, while Allen, Lyon and Meserve all posted kills for a 15-9 margin. Later on, a bad set from Lyon closed the gap to 18-12, but that was as close as the visitors would get as MHC closed out the frame with six straight points.
Mount Holyoke carried that momentum straight into the third set, jumping out to an 8-0 lead behind two service aces from Lyon. A kill from Redding got the Blazers on the board, but the Lyons earned four of the next five points for a 13-3 lead. Another five-point run, bolstered by two kills from sophomore middle hitter Sarah Caggiano (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) pushed the home team to a 19-6 score.
Adams posted her fifth kill for the Blazers, but strikes from Meserve and match-point by Simine closed out the set and win for Mount Holyoke.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, traveling to Springfield for a 7pm conference match. Elms is right back in action on Saturday, hosting Lesley and Castleton at 11am and 3pm, respectively.
