South Hadley, Mass. - October 31, 2019 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team cruised to a three-set win over visiting Fitchburg State University in non-conference play at Howard Gymnasium on Thursday evening. Prior to the match, the Lyons honored the two members of its senior class for their committment to the program over the past four seasons.

With the win, the Lyons are now 6-19 overall, while the Falcons drop to 3-17 on the year. Mount Holyoke College won by the set scores of 25-9, 25-14, 25-18.

First-year Marianne Simon (Miami, Fla.) led the Lyons with 10 kills on 20 swings, hitting .300, while also collecting seven digs and a pair of service aces. Senior Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.) notched eight kills, hitting .636, while Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) also chipped in seven kills and six digs in the win. Junior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out a match-high 28 assists.

An early kill from Simon gave the Lyons a 6-2 lead to begin the first set, before a 7-0 run with Walden at the service run gave Mount Holyoke College a comfortable 15-6 advantage. In the run, the Lyons received a pair of kills from both Simon and McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.). Holding on to a 16-8 lead, the Lyons went on another 7-0 run, this time capped by an ace from Crosby to give the Lyons a 23-8 advantage, before a kill from Bishop sealed the 25-9 victory.

Simine picked up an ace to make it 10-3 in the second set, before Simon and Simine produced consecutive kills to make it 16-7 midway through the frame. After a timeout from the Falcons with the score at 18-9 in the hosts favor, the Lyons boosted their lead to 12 with an ace from Simon, before an ace from Alexandra Keough (Endicott, N.Y.) and a service error from Fitchburg State ended the 25-14 second-set win for the Lyons.

Bishop picked up back-to-back aces to begin the third set and give Mount Holyoke College a 7-3 advantage, which forced a timeout from the Falcons. Coming out of the break, the Lyons boosted their lead to eight on a 4-0 run, capped by an ace from Crosby. From there, Walden was able to pick up a late kill and Bishop forced match point with a kill, before Crosby finished the game with an ace that sealed the 25-18 set victory. 

Up next, Mount Holyoke College will return to Howard Gymnasium on Saturday, November 2 and will host nationally-ranked Babson College and Sage College in a tri-match that begins at 11 a.m.

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