Wellesley, Mass. - October 2, 2021 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team fell to host Wellesley College, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at the Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

With the loss, the Lyons settle to 3-10 overall with a 0-6 mark in league play, while the Blue improves to 3-7 on the year with a 1-4 mark against NEWMAC opponents. Wellesley won by the set scores of 25-13, 25-12, 25-22.

Junior McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) led the way for the Lyons, collecting five kills on eight swings, hitting .625 for the match. Senior outside hitter Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) posted two kills and matched Lucie Berclaz (Kyogo, Japan) with a team-best seven digs. Senior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out nine assists and delivered two service aces in the setback.

Wellesley was led by 21 kills from Nicole Doerges, while Tiffany Shou also picked up 11 kills in the win. Izzy Seebold handed out 33 assists and Claire Bialek posted a team-best seven digs.

After Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) delivered a kill early in the match, Wellesley used a 5-0 run to take a 6-2 lead, before kills from Bishop and Mar Simon (Miami, Fla.) pulled the Lyons back to within three, making it 9-6, Blue. The hosts then went on a 8-2 run to take a 17-8 lead and control of the frame, before Simon picked up her second kill of the set to make it 17-10, Blue. From there, Wellesley would score six of the last seven points to pick up the 25-13 first-set victory.

Mount Holyoke hung tough early in the second set as Crosby delivered a kill, but Wellesley answered with another five-point run to take a 12-5 advantage over the Lyons. After three-consecutive attack errors from the Blue, the hosts enjoyed a 9-1 run to close the second set, 25-12, thus taking a 2-0 match lead.

Crosby added another kill early in the third set to make it a one-point game with Wellesley leading 6-5, but eventually the hosts opened a 14-8 lead on a kill from Shou. Abeja then ripped off three-straight service aces to pull Mount Holyoke back to within a pair before Crosby and Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) added two more kills, making it 19-15 late in the third set. From there, an ace from Walden cut the Lyons' deficit to three, but Doerges delivered two kills late to seal the three-set victory over Mount Holyoke.

Up next, the Lyons will return to Howard Gymnasium on Tuesday, October 5 for a NEWMAC battle with Coast Guard beginning at 7 p.m.

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