SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – First year middle hitter Yasmine Reece laid down a service ace for the final point, sealing a 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 26-24) victory for Wellesley College against Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday.
With the victory, the Blue improve to 4-1 in conference and are now an even 7-7 on the season. The Lyons slip to 5-7 and are now 0-6 in the NEWMAC.
Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y./Choate Rosemary Hall) came up huge for the Blue in the final set, breaking a 22-all tie with back-to-back kills. The Lyons were able to tie it back up at 24-24 on a service ace from first year middle hitter Sarah Caggiano (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown), but it was a kill from Reece and a service ace at the end to give the Blue the deciding match, 26-24.
Wellesley was led by junior outside hitter Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek), who recorded a match-best 14 kills. She also added four assists, three aces and five digs. Reece posted 10 kills with just two errors on 18 attempts. She also had an ace, three digs and a block solo. First year setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y./Scarsdale) had an outstanding effort as well, notching 31 assists with seven digs and a block assist. Classmate and defensive specialist Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif./Consumnes Oaks) notched a match-high 14 digs.
For the Lyons, first year middle hitter Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) had a team-best five kills, adding two service aces. Caggiano added four kills, an ace and two block assists, while senior captain and outside hitter Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) notched four kills, three aces and a team-best seven digs. Junior setter Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va./Flint Hill School) also had a team-high seven digs with 15 assists.
It was a back-and-forth match to start, but the Blue got things going quickly in the opening set, jumping out to an 11-5 lead on a strike from first year middle hitter Elise Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif./Henry M. Gunn). After an MHC kill by Allen later made it a 14-6 lead, Wellesley quickly caught fire with a 6-0 run. The Lyons were able to get three back, but a 5-0 run closed out the opening set, led by a pair of kills from first year outside hitter Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif./The Bishop's School).
The second set once again saw the Blue storm out to the lead with an 11-5 advantage courtesy of a Fieldman kill. A shot toward the left side by first year middle hitter Joy Maran (Santa Fe, N.M./Santa Fe Prep) got MHC a point closer, but multiple errors, coupled with kills from Fieldman and Griffin saw Wellesley take an 18-9 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y./Emma Willard School) dropped three straight aces and a kill from Reece sealed the middle set win.
Mount Holyoke had a great start to the third set, going up by a 6-2 margin, but Wellesley responded. The Blue battled back multiple times before sealing the win on the points from Reece.
The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, traveling to Regis for a tri-match. MHC will face Worcester State (1pm), followed by a match against the home Pride (3pm). Wellesley is back in action on Friday, traveling to UMass Boston for a 6pm contest.
