CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball team pulled out a tightly-contested 3-1 win over Mount Holyoke College in non-conference play in Picknelly Arena on Friday night, winning 23-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-22.
The Blazers (16-4) used a balanced attack to overcome the Lyons (7-13), led by Ayanna Meadows (Springfield, Mass.) who had 15 kills while hitting .452 along the way. Meadows added a match-high 29 digs to go with six aces in the contest. Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, Nev.) added 14 kills and six digs. Hannah Pichardo (South Glen Falls, N.Y.) contributed 10 kills and six digs for the Blazers and setter Dakota Stewart (Victoria, Texas) added 39 assists and 13 digs.
The Lyons were led by Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla.) and Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.). Allen had a team-best 13 kills while hitting .379 while Simine added 11 kills at a .333 clip. Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) had 36 assists for MHC and Cameron Graham (Sarasota, Fla.) had a team-best 19 digs.
Mount Holyoke out-hit Elms .188-.166 in the match and held an 11.0-6.0 advantage in blocks but Elms served up a dozen aces and had an 85-73 advantage in digs.
The visiting Lyons opened with a victory in the first set, battling from behind with a four-point swing, which included a pair of kills from Simine to go up 10-8. Neither team was able to gain a significant lead, facing a 23-all tie after an attacking error by the homestanding Blazers. A service ace from MHC's Isabell Linde (Red Bank, N.J.) and another error gave the Lyons the win.
Mount Holyoke held an advantage in the second set, but a 10-point swing for the home team pushed them into the lead by a 16-12 margin. It was a lead that would be short-lived as MHC rebounded to tie the set at 19-all and earn a 22-19 margin. A pair of aces from Dakota Stewart once again tied and the Blazers went on to win and go up 2-1.
Following a victory in the third set, which once again came down to a 2-point margin, Elms opened up a 17-9 advantage in the fourth frame. The Lyons pulled to within 23-20 on a service ace by Cameron Graham, but a final kill from Redding sealed the victory.
Elms will play its final home contest of the regular-season against Dean next Thursday while Mount Holyoke will host Smith College on Tuesday at 7pm.