South Hadley, Mass. - September 12, 2019 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team fell to Westfield State, 3-0, in non-conference play at Howard Gymnasium on Thursday evening. With the loss, the Lyons fall to 2-5 overall, while the Owls improve to 3-5 on the year.

The Lyons fell by the set scores of 18-25, 21-25, 14-25.

Senior Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.) led the way for Mount Holyoke College with eight kills on 16 errorless swings, hitting .500, while Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) chipped in seven to go along with 12 digs. Chelsea Galicia (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) had a team-high 14 digs, while Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out 14 assists in the setback. Simine also had a team-high five blocks, as the senior also produced seven digs.

The Owls opened the first set in dominating fashion, taking a 12-3 lead, but Marianne Simon (Miami, Fla.) went back to serve and in that time, the Lyons got a kill from McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.), Natasha Henry (Troy, N.Y.) and an ace from the first-year to make it 12-6, Owls. Simine would pick up an ace to pull Mount Holyoke College to within four, but the Owls eventually opened a 24-17 lead on an attack error from Simon, before Bishop made an error at set point to help the Owls to a 25-18 first-set win.

The Lyons jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the second set following back-to-back errors from the Owls, before a kill from Bishop made it 10-7, Mount Holyoke College. After Simine forced a Westfield State timeout with a kill that made it 11-8, the Owls evened the set at 13 apiece beore eventually controlling a 22-19 lead on a service error from Bishop. Closing out the second frame, the Owls picked up an ace before Bishop made an attack error at set point that allowed Westfield State to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Westfield State dominated the third set, taking a 13-6 lead following an 8-2 run, capped by a kil from Hanna Simpkins (Walpole, N.H.). From there, the Owls opened up a 21-13 lead before scoring four out of the next five points to seal the match, 3-0.

Up next, Mount Holyoke College heads to Plymouth State on Saturday, September 14 for a tri-match with the Panthers and Norwich University. The first match begins at 12 p.m.

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