SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 19, 2012) – Action at the 21st Annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament kicked off on Friday as Mount Holyoke opened play in the early match. The Lyons shouldered a 3-1 loss to Colby in the 5pm game at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
The two teams battled in a close first set as the visiting Mules pulled out a 25-23 set victory to go up, 1-0. Colby continued to gain momentum into the second set, posting a 25-12 win before the Lyons battled back to take the third set.
Set three was a tight match-up as each team matched point-for-point before Mount Holyoke finally began to pull away. The Lyons led 20-18 and battled for each point going forward to take the 25-19 victory.
In the fourth set, the Mules came out determined and built up a 7-0 lead before the Lyons got on the board. Colby led by as many as 13 (22-9) from that point on. Mount Holyoke kept in the fight and brought it to 24-12, but the Mules closed out the game with the 25-13 win.
For Colby, first year Kim Donaldson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Fountain Valley) had a game-best 14 kills on 22 attempts, while classmate Natalie Roy (Los Altos, Calif./Menlo School) added eight kills and a match-best 15 digs. Senior Emily Varni (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Windward School) also chipped in with 15 digs and junior Kate Pleasants (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry Collegiate) had 27 assists and three service aces.
The Lyons saw first year Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) post 13 kills with 14 digs and a match-best five service aces. Junior Martina Kneifel (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon del Oro) added 10 kills and 13 digs with two block solos and two block assists, while sophomore Stephany Yang (Glen Allen, Va./Henrico) had 26 assists and 14 digs.
Both teams return to the court on Saturday as Mount Holyoke takes on Bridgewater State (9am) and Westfield State (1pm) on Court 1 at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. Colby will face Wheaton College at Smith's Scott Gymnasium (11am) before returning to South Hadley to face Swarthmore (3pm).
In the other 5pm matches, Wheaton battled to a win over Westfield State, 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 22-25, 25-21) at Mount Holyoke, while Swarthmore defeated Smith, 3-0, (25-16, 25-13, 25-11) and Brandeis downed Bridgewater State, 3-0, (25-20, 25-19, 25-18) at the Smith venues.
The second matches at Mount Holyoke saw Bowdoin defeat Tufts, 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-22) and MIT beat Williams, 3-2 (19-25, 25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 15-10).
For more information about this year's Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament, including the official program, schedules and scores, log on to http://www.smithpioneers.com/2012vbhof.
Photo courtesy of Doug Keller.
