The Lyons fall in three on Tuesday in NEWMAC action
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Coast Guard Academy picked up a 3-0 victory over Mount Holyoke College on Tuesday night, powered by nine kills and five service aces by senior captain Susan West. New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday. With the win, the Bears improve to 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the conference while Mount Holyoke falls to 2-11 overall and 0-7 in the New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC).
First year middle hitter Alexi Deane (West Broward/Cooper City Fla.) and junior middle hitter Madison Scott (Lusby, Md./Patuxent High) followed West's performance with seven kills each. First year setter Makenna Martin posted a match best 28 assists.
For MHC, sophomore middle hitter Joy Maran (Sante Fe, N.M./Sante Fe Prep) led the attack with a team-best nine kills. Senior setter and captain Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va./Flint Hill School) recorded 15 assists and tagged on 11 digs.
Coast Guard started the match on fire, getting out to a 7-0 lead, powered by two service aces by West. MHC regrouped and cut the lead down to three, after a service ace by first year middle hitter Sasha Simine (Kitchner, Ont./Cameron Heights College Institute), puting the score at 16-13. Later in the set, junior outside hitter Katrina Meserve (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) connected on two service aces in a row, but a pair of kills by West eventually ended the set, 25-16.
In the second set, the teams found themselves in a similar predicament, battling to a 17-14 score in favor of the Bears following a kill from junior outside hitter Summer Adams (Gig Harbor, Wash./Gig Harbor High). A kill by MHC sophomore middle hitter Sarah Caggiano (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) cut the lead to a 23-21 margin, but an eventual service error by the Lyons led to match point for the Bears.
Coast Guard got out to a blistering 18-5 start in the third frame, ignited by four kills from sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Bullard (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth). MHC got as close as 11, but the high powered Coast Guard offense proved too much, ending the match at 25-10, capped off by a West kill.
MHC will compete at home on Thursday, facing College at 6:00pm. Coast Guard continues its road trip on Saturday where they will face UMASS- Boston and Colby-Sawyer in tri-match action at Colby-Sawyer beginning at 3:00pm.
