SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – In game one against Bard, junior right side hitter Sarah Caggiano (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) led the team with seven kills, while adding seven digs. Classmate Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla./Orlando) and sophomore outside hitter Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont./Cameron Heights Collegiate) each had six kills, with Allen adding two block assists and Simine with three. Leading the match in assists was first year Brayden Walden (Mckinney, Texas/McKinney North).
For Bard, Philippine Alba led the match with eight kills and tallied 10 digs to go along with two block assists. Alexis Akingbade posted five kills, while Emily Anatasi led the match with 15 digs. Jewes SMith added 12 assists with five digs.
In the first set, the Raptors took a 4-2 lead before allowing MHC to go on a 10-3 run, powered by two service aces by junior libero Cameron Graham (Sarasota, Fla./The Out of Door Academy) to take a 15-7 lead. Bard went on a 5-1 run of their own later in the set, before allowing Simine to get the set-winning kill (25-15).
After going down 4-1 in the second set, Bard battled back with eight of the next nine point to take a 9-5 lead after three service aces from Kaylynn Tran and two from Emily Anastasi. The Lyons then used a pair of kills from both Allen and junior outside hitter Joy Maran (Santa Fe, N.M./Santa Fe Prep) to kick-start a run that put the Lyons up 15-12. Bard tied the set back up at 16-all, but MHC forced several attack errors to win the set 25-17.
The final set saw the Lyons jump out to an early lead and never look back. The raptors closed the gap to 14-12 after an MHC service error, but the Lyons pushed the lead to 21-12 with a 7-0 run, culminated by a Caggiano kill. Bard came as close as six, but a Simine kill ended the set and match in favor of the Lyons.
In the second match against SUNY New Paltz, Simine and Allen had dominant games with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Allen along with Caggiano added six total blocks. Graham posted a team-high 26 digs, while Walden led the team with 28 helpers.
For the Hawks, sophomore outside hitter Maddie Van pelt led the match with 14 kills, followed by first year Julie Greenspan, who had 10. First year setter Caleigh Carr was the leader in assists for the day with a total of 30. Leading the squad in digs was senior Veronica Metedero with 29.
The Lyons had a competitive battle, heading into the third set in a 1-1 tie. The teams got out to a 6-6 tie in the stanza before a kill from Simine set up a run for the Lyons to go up 13-9. The Hawks countered with three straight points, but MHC continued to push the lead to five after an ace from junior outside hitter Isabell Linde (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) put them up 17-12.
The Hawks came back to tie the game at 23-all and eventually took a 25-24 lead after and MHC error. The Hawks ended the set with an ace to go up 2-1.
In what became the final set, the Hawks stormed out to a 14-6 advantage over the Lyons. Mount Holyoke went on a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to four (15-11), but the Hawks extended the lead once again at 24-16. The Lyons used two attack errors and a kill from Allen to come to within five, but an attack error ultimately ended the set 25-19, giving the Hawks the win.
The Lyons return to action at home on Tuesday against Clark University at 7:00pm.
