SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Springfield College used 12 kills from junior outside hitter Jen Donnelly to lift the Pride to a 3-0 victory over Mount Holyoke College in NEWMAC (New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference) volleyball action on Tuesday. With the win the Pride improve to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the NEWMAC, while the Lyons fall to 7-7 overall and 1-6 in conference action.
To go along with Donnelly's (Exeter, R.I./Exeter-West Greenwich) 12 kills, she also added 11 digs and four block assists. First years Kayley Cimino (Cumberland, maine/Greely) and Camryn Bancroft (Eastport, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) each posted six kills, while Bancroft also had five block assists and Cimino had 26 assists.
For the Lyons, junior middle hitter Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) led the squad with seven kills and added three total blocks. Sophomore middle hitter Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont./Cameron Heights Collegiate Inst.) tallied five kills, while first year setter Brayden Walden (Mckinney, Texas/McKinney North) had 18 assists. Junior libero Cameron Graham (Sarasota, Fla./The Out of Door Academy) also added 13 digs.
Springfield started off strong in the first set with a 9-4 lead after a kill from Bancroft, but the Lyons battled back to bring the game within two (13-11) as a result of several attack errors from the Pride. Springfield regrouped and scored six of the next eight points, but MHC went on a 4-1 run of their own with the help of a Simine ace to cut the deficit to 20-17. The Pride closed out the stanza strong using two kills from Donnelly to end the set with a 25-20 victory.
In the second set, the Pride had another hot start, gaining a 5-0 advantage before a serving error ended the streak. Springfield used its momentum to gain a 21-13 lead after a kill from senior right side hitter Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif./El Camino), but the Lyons went on a 3-0 run culminated by a kill from junior outside hitter Isabell Linde (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) to cut the lead to 21-16. The Pride used a kill from Donnelly to kick-start a 4-0 run to close the set with a 25-16 victory.
Heading into what would be the last set, Mount Holyoke were the aggressors, getting out to a 4-2 lead. The Pride used three consecutive errors from MHC to tie the game and take a 5-4 lead. Springfield never looked back, going up by as much as eight to win the set and match.
Springfield will continue on the road against Nazareth on Friday at 7:00pm. Mount Holyoke will be back on the road on Thursday for a non-conference bout against Western New England at 7:00pm.
