Volleyball Falls in NEWMAC Action at Coast Guard

Photo of Lyons volleyball player, Jamesa Allen

NEW LONDON, Conn. - First year outside hitter Amanda Dake recorded a match-best 10 kills to lead the United States Coast Guard Academy to a 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-14) win over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening. With the victory, the Bears move to 13-1 and remain perfect in conference play at 3-0. The Lyons slip to 5-4 overall and are 0-3 in the NEWMAC.

Following a tough opening set which saw the Bears earn a 25-11 victory, the Lyons rebounded in the second stanza. Facing a 12-7 deficit, MHC used a 3-0 run to pull to within three and kept it at that margin until a service ace from Lyons' libero Cameron Graham, along with a pair of errors and a kill from senior captain Sarah Caggiano lifted the Lyons into the lead at 17-16.

A Bears kill from Lauren Hatfield tied the contest once again and two consecutive aces from Hatfield once again gave Coast Guard the lead for good. The Lyons were able to battle back to 24-21 on a pair of Bears' errors and a kill from senior captain Jamesa Allen made it 24-22, but a final kill by Bridget Boyle sealed the set win.

The final set saw the visiting Lyons keep things tight once again, but Coast Guard found its groove behind a 6-1 run to open a 9-4 lead. MHC pulled to within 21-10 off the benefit of an attacking error by the Bears, but the visitors could not keep pace down the stretch.

In addition to Dake, who also posted four digs, Coast Guard saw Hatfield add eight kills and a block assist. Veronica Hine added 11 digs, while Makenna Martin contributed a match-best 30 assists.

For the Lyons, Caggiano and Allen each recorded five kills with Allen posting a block solo and two block assists. Senior Isabell Linde recorded four kills with a service ace, while Graham added a match-best 12 digs.

Mount Holyoke returns to the court on Tuesday when it hosts Anna Maria at 7pm. Coast Guard heads to Cambridge on Saturday for matches against MIT (12pm) and Manhattanville (2pm).