BROOKLINE, Mass. - Powered by an all-around effort, the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory at Newbury College on Tuesday evening. With the victory, the Lyons remain unbeaten on the season with a 3-0 mark. The Nighthawks move to 2-2 overall. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Sweeting recorded 13 kills in the match, while junior libero/defensive specialist Kaleen Iwema had 15 digs on the night.
The Lyons jumped out to the early lead, taking the opening set by a 25-22 margin. MHC opened up a 3-0 lead, but the Nighthawks bounced back and led by a 6-3 margin in the frame behind a kill from Lauren Watson. Mount Holyoke battled back later in the set, taking an 18-17 lead off an attacking error by Newbury, but the home team pulled even and continued to lead down the stretch.
A critical service error late in the frame by the home team tied the contest at 22-all and the Lyons took control as a bad set by the Nighthawks followed by a kill from Iwema made it a 24-22 set score for MHC, who would take the first on another attacking error.
The second set once again saw the home Nighthawks take the lead, but Mount Holyoke battled back from a 7-4 deficit to make it 7-all on a kill by Iwema. The Lyons went on to grab the lead and never relinquished it throughout the frame as key contributions from Iwema, Sweeting, junior middle hitter Rebecca Bland and first year setter Natalie Lyon gave MHC the 25-21 victory in the frame.
In the final set, Mount Holyoke set the tone, jumping out to a 9-1 advantage, which included four kills from Sweeting - the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Week. Newbury tried to get back into the match, but three straight kills from Sweeting and two more kills down the stretch from senior middle hitter Kristina Weld secured the 25-20 set win and the 3-0 match victory.
In addition to Sweeting, who also had two service aces and five digs, Iwema added six kills to go along with her 15 digs. Junior setter Stephany Yang had 13 assists and six digs, while Lyon chipped in with two kills, 10 assists and 10 digs.
For Newbury, Courtney Blanks had 12 kills and 10 digs, while Madison Clemmons added three kills, six assists and 11 digs.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday at the University of St. Joseph. The Lyons play the host BlueJays at 10am, before squaring off against Mitchell at 12pm. The Nighthawks are back in action on Friday when they host Albertus Magnus at 4pm in the first game of the Dave Hildebrandt Memorial Tournament.
