South Hadley, Mass. - October 23, 2021 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team split a pair of decisions with Bates and Westfield State as the Lyons participated in the Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament, hosted between Smith College and Amherst College on Saturday.
With the split, the Lyons now stand at 4-15 at the year and will return home to Howard Gymnasium for their final two matches of this season. Up next, Mount Holyoke College will host Lasell on Thursday, October 28 at 7 p.m. before wrapping up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play versus Emerson on Saturday, October 30 at 12 p.m.
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Bates 3, Mount Holyoke 0 -- Game One
Junior Mar Simon (Miami, Fla.) had a team-best nine kills and hit .364 for the match but the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team fell to Bates College, 3-0, in the first of two matches in the Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament for the Lyons.
Senior Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) also had a productive match offensively, picking up seven kills and hitting .235 while also collecting a block. Senior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) and junior Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) combined for 23 assists, while three student-athletes including Simon, Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) and Chelsea Galicia (Altadena, Calif.) all had nine digs.
The Bobcats were victorious by the set scores of 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.
Bates opened an early 4-1 lead in the first set before Simon picked up her second kill of the match to stop the run and cut the Lyons' deficit in half. From there, McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) gave Mount Holyoke a 9-8 lead before Bates answered with an 7-0 run to take a 15-9 lead over the Lyons. Mount Holyoke would pull back to within three on a kill from Simon, but a pair of kills from Alyssa Lowther closed out the first set, 25-21, for the Bobcats.
Mount Holyoke took an early 8-5 lead in the second set following a kill from Davis, before back-to-back kills from Simon and Bishop make it 13-10, Lyons, midway through the frame. Clinging to a four-point lead late in the set, Bates came roaring back with a pair of three-point spurts that gave them a 22-20 advantage. Even at 23 after a kill from Davis and Abeja, Bates picked up the final two points of the frame to take a 2-0 match lead.
Both sides traded points to begin the third set before Bates opened an 11-7 lead following a bad set from Mount Holyoke. Bishop evened the score at 13 before a kill from Davis and a bad set from Madison Broda gave the Lyons a late 18-16 lead. From there, Bates ripped off four-consecutive points to make it 20-18 before sealing the 25-22 set victory on back-to-back kills from Sydney Phillips and Cayla Deacon.
Mount Holyoke 3, Westfield State 1 -- Game Two
Bishop picked up 12 kills and 12 digs to lead the Lyons in their second game of the day, a 3-1 win over Westfield State at Amherst College's LeFrak Gymnasium on Saturday
Walden handed out 19 assists while Galicia posted 34 digs in four sets. Simon was productive once again, adding nine kills and Davis registered eight of her own while also producing a pair of blocks in the win. The Lyons won by the set scores of 26-24, 19-25, 25-23, 25-22.
Mount Holyoke fought back from an early 10-4 deficit in the first set and evened the score at 15 apiece following a kill from Abeja. Even at 24 apiece, Crosby picked up back-to-back kills to finish the 26-24 first-set victory.
Westfield State utilized a 6-0 run with things even at 14 apiece in the second set to pull away from the Lyons, before a late three-point run pulled Mount Holyoke back to within four capped by a kill from Crosby. Westfield State responded with the next two points to even the match at 1-1.
Mount Holyoke College was rolling in set three, going on a 14-2 run to take a 20-10 lead over the Owls. Bishop picked up a late kill and Westfield State responded with a 9-0 run of their own to pull within one. Holding a 24-23 lead, the Lyons benefitted from a service error as Mount Holyoke took the 2-1 match lead.
A five-point run that included kills from Walden, Simon and Abeja helped Mount Holyoke to a 15-10 lead in the fourth set, before a late five-point run gave the Lyons a 21-15 lead following a kill from Davis. Westfield State once again made it interesting and pulled to within one, but Bishop and Abeja picked up back-to-back kills to close out the set 25-22 and the match, 3-1.