SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 20, 2012) - Day two of the 21st Annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament concluded on Saturday as Mount Holyoke College squared off against Bridgewater State and Westfield State. The Lyons shouldered a loss of 3-0 to the Bears before battling to a 3-1 loss to the Owls. Junior Martina Kneifel was named to the All-Tournament Team for MHC.

In the first Mount Holyoke match, set one saw the visiting Bears and the homestanding Lyons match point-for-point throughout the opener. Bridgewater State gained control of the play late, going on a 7-0 run to take the 19-12 lead. Mount Holyoke gained a point back, but could not get any further as the Bears took set one by a 25-13 margin.

Set two saw Bridgewater State carry its momentum from the opener to a 4-0 lead. The Lyons continued to battle and later grabbed a 6-5 advantage of its own, but the Bears took the lead back and never relinquished it for a 25-19 set victory.

The final set of the game saw the score stay incredibly close for the majority as neither team held more than a two-point advantage. The score rallied back and forth continuously right until the end as Bridgewater State broke an 18-18 tie and added on to finish with the 25-21 victory.

Mount Holyoke was led by first year Emma Sweeting, who had 12 kills and six digs to go along with two service aces. Junior Kristina Weld added eight kills, while sophomore Stephany Yang had 23 assists and nine digs. Junior Martina Kneifel rounded out the solid efforts with six kills an 10 digs.

Game two against the Owls, saw the homestanding Lyons take a 1-0 lead behind a 25-23 victory in the first set. Westfield State battled back and posted a 25-21 win in set two before claiming wins of 25-12 and 25-16 to grab the 3-1 victory.

For the Lyons, Kneifel had 12 kills and 22 digs, while also adding a service ace and two block solos. Sweeting added 10 kills and 16 digs with two services aces and two block solos, while Yang had 23 assists and 18 digs.

In addition to Kneifel, All-Tournament Team members from the action played at Mount Holyoke include Nicole Carter from Amherst, Melanie Appleman from Bridgewater State, Emily Varni from Colby, Katie Spielbauer from MIT, Kat Montemurro from Swarthmore, Isabel Kuhel from Tufts and Lindsay Rescott from Westfield State.

For more information about this year's Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament, including the official program, schedules, scores and more, log on to http://www.smithpioneers.com/2012vbhof.

Photo courtesy of Frank Poulin.