DANBURY, Conn. – Senior Emma Sweeting and first year Jamesa Allen each notched 18 kills on the day, but the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team shouldered a pair of losses in tri-match action at Western Connecticut State University on Saturday. The Lyons fell to Southern Maine, 3-1, and suffered a 3-0 loss to the host Colonials.
In the day's second match, Mount Holyoke took command of game one early and cruised to a 25-17 win, taking a 1-0 lead. Southern Maine rallied, taking game two and then outlasting Mount Holyoke in game three by a 33-31 score, giving the Huskies a 2-1 lead. Southern Maine dominated play for much of the fourth set, finishing with a 25-16 win and a 3-1 victory in the match.
In the Huskies' match against Mount Holyoke, sophomore Jess Williamson (Goffstown, NH) recorded 15 kills, setting a new University of Southern Maine career record for kills with 893. The previous record of 892 kills had been set by Sarah Kittrick during the 1999 season.
In the day's final match, Western cruised to a 25-12 victory in game one against Mount Holyoke, and then posted a pair of 25-17 victories to close out the 3-0 win over the Lyons.
Leading the offensive attack for Western on the day was junior Jacqueline Kanuk (New Fairfield, CT) with 25 kills, followed junior Karissa Smith (Bristol, CT) with 22 kills. Junior Danielle Kaminsky (Southington, CT) had 78 assists, while junior Cady Cordes (Fallon, NV) led the defensive effort for Western with 28 digs, followed by Smith with 27 digs.
For Mount Holyoke, Allen (Orlando, FL) and Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) each had 18 kills, junior Natalie Lyon (Oakton, VA) had 61 assists, while Sweeting led in digs with 22.
With the sweep on the day, Western improves to 18-10 on the season and 4-2 in the Little East Conference. Southern Maine now stands at 11-17, 1-4 in the LEC. Mount Holyoke College ends the day with an overall record of 7-14.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Northampton for a 7pm match against conference-and-area rival Smith College.
Game release courtesy of Scott Russell, Western Connecticut State University Athletic Communications.
