Leicester, Mass. - August 31, 2019 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team dropped a pair of contests to Becker and Bridgewater State in a tri-match, hosted at Becker College's Leicester Gymnasium on Saturday.

With the losses, the Lyons begin the season 0-2. Against Becker, Mount Holyoke College lost 3-2 by the set scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-21, 17-25, 6-15. Against Bridgewater State, the Lyons fell 3-0 by the set scores of 22-25, 21-25, 21-25.

Up next, Mount Holyoke will travel to MCLA on Tuesday, September 3 for a 6 p.m. contest with the Trailblazers.

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Becker 3, Mount Holyoke 2 -- Game One

Despite winning two of the first three sets in the match, Mount Holyoke College dropped a five-set decision to Becker to start the 2019 season at Leicester Gymnasium on Saturday morning. In the loss, senior Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.) posted 14 kills on 26 attempts, hitting at a .423 clip. Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) and Marianne Simon (Miami, Fla.) added nine kills apiece, while Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) and Alexandra Keough (Endicott, N.Y.) combined for 27 assists in the setback. Chelsea Galicia (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) led the Lyons with 15 digs and also chipped in three assists.

After dropping the first set, the Lyons rallied in the second set and jumped out to a 9-3 advantage following a kill from Simon. A kill from Simine and an ace from Keough gave the Lyons a 19-10 advantage midway through the set, before three-straight service errors from Mount Holyoke evened the match at 21 apiece. From there, McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) picked up a pair of aces, including the decisive ace that evened the match at one apiece.

The two sides battled back-and-forth in the third set, before the Lyons opened a 15-12 advantage on an ace from Simon. From there, a kill from the first-year once again evened the set at 21-21. Crosby then picked up another ace and Simine and Natasha Henry (Troy, N.Y.) added back-to-back kills to help Mount Holyoke win the third set, 25-21, and take a match lead of 2-1. 

Midway through the fourth set, Simine picked up a kill that slowed down a 5-2 run from the hosts that made it 17-11, Becker. The Hawks eventually closed out the set, 25-17, forcing a fifth and final set. In the fifth set, Becker jumped out to an early 5-0 advantage and never looked back, sealing the come-from-behind victory with a 15-6 victory in the frame.

Bridgewater State 3, Mount Holyoke 0 -- Game Two

Simine once again highlighted the Lyons' performance in game two as the senior had 11 kills on 17 swings, hitting .588 for the match. Simon added another eight kills in the setback, while Walden and Keough handed out 13 assists apiece. Bishop led Mount Holyoke with 10 digs, while Simon also added six of her own.

The Lyons jumped out to an early 5-2 advantage over the Bears following a match-opening kill and then ace from Simon. From there, the Bears responded with a 4-0 run to take a 6-5 advantage, before Bridgwater State used a 5-0 run in the middle of the frame to take a 12-7 lead. The Lyons would pull back to within three on a kill from Bishop, making it 17-14 Bears, but two-straight errors from Mount Holyoke, followed by a kill from Bridgewater State forced the Lyons to drop the first set, 25-22.

In set two, Keough picked up an ace to give the Lyons a 5-2 advantage, which was eventually made a 9-4 margin on a kill from Simon. The Bears then went on a 12-2 run to take a 17-14 lead in set two. From there, the momentum proved too much for the Lyons, as the Bears were able to take a 2-0 lead following a 25-21 set victory.

The Bears started the third set on an 11-3 run, which was ended on an attack error. The error sparked a 8-2 run for the Lyons, which was capped by an ace from Bishop to make it 13-12, Bridgewater State. Even at 16 apiece just moments later, the Bears began to pull away as they took a 22-17 lead before sealing the match on back-to-back aces.