SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team played a strong match after losing a lopsided first set, but Springfield College prevailed 3-1 (25-8, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23) to remain unbeaten in NEWMAC play on Saturday afternoon in Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
Springfield (19-1, 7-0 NEWMAC) won its 15th straight match to stay in a tie for first place in the conference with Babson.
Mount Holyoke (8-11, 1-6 NEWMAC) lost its fourth straight despite the strong performance.
Springfield was led on the attack by Riley Donahue with 15 kills and 13 digs, Natalie Billet with 13 kills and 11 digs, and Olivia Gentry with 12 kills on 21 attempts (.476). Ally Townsend had a match-high 25 digs and Tori Colosimo tallied 34 assists.
Sophomore Madeline Barton (Brookfield, Wis.) paced Mount Holyoke with eight kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) added six kills and three blocks, while junior captain Lucie Berclaz (Hull, Mass.) had six kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Amelia Ringor (West Lafayette, Ind.) and first-year Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) paced the back row with 24 and 22 digs, respectively, and sophomore Sadie Duffrin (Minneapolis, Minn.) had 20 assists.
Springfield opened the match on fire, building a 9-2 lead in the first set with three kills apiece by Donahue and Jodi Saelua. Olivia Nealy served on the final nine points of the set, including three aces.
Mount Holyoke never trailed in the second set, which included five tie scores, the last at 19-19. Springfield fought off two straight set points with kills by Billet, but a kill by Berclaz gave Mount Holyoke the set and tied the match at 1-1.
Mount Holyoke trailed 23-13 in the third set before a 7-1 run brought the Lyons within four points at 24-20. Gentry's kill clinched the set and a 2-1 lead for Springfield.
The Lyons made another run late in the fourth set, coming back from 24-17 down with a 6-1 run to close the score to 24-23. Billet's 13th kill finalized the match.
Both teams remain in NEWMAC action on Tuesday at 7pm, as Springfield plays at Wellesley while Mount Holyoke plays at WPI.
