Northampton, Mass. - September 14, 2021 - The Mount Holyoke College volleyball team opened up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play against Smith College on Tuesday evening as the Lyons dropped a 3-0 decision to their local rivals in Ainsworth Gymnasium.
The Lyons are now 2-4 on the year and drop to 0-1 in league play, while Smith College improves to 7-2 overall with a 1-0 mark in the NEWMAC. Smith prevailed by the set scores of 25-12, 25-22, 25-9.
Senior Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) posted a team-best four kills to go along with one block assist, while senior setter Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out six assists and produced three digs. Senior libero Chelsea Galicia (Altadena, Calif.) registered a team-best 11 digs while junior Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) had seven of her own.
Abby Sweeney led the Pioneers with 12 kills while Nathalie Pak handed out 17 assists in the victory for Smith. Olivia Smith notched a match-best 15 digs for the Pioneers.
Trailing 13-6 in the first set, junior McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) picked up a kill followed by an attack error from Smith to close the Lyons margin of deficit to five. With the score at 14-9 in Smith's favor, the hosts then went on a 9-0 run to open a 23-9 lead. Willet Parkins (Norwich, Vt.) produced a kill late in the frame but an ensuing kill from Sweeney gave the Pioneers the set one victory.
Abeja evened the score at four points apiece early in the second set with a kill which was followed by kills from Davis and Barah Burns (Los Angeles, Calif.) resulting in the two teams being tied at seven. Walden then picked up a service ace to keep pull the Lyons even at 11 before a kill from Bishop gave the Lyons a 20-19 lead later in the frame. From there, Smith went on a five-point run to take a 24-21 lead before Sweeney finished off the set with another kill, giving the Pioneers a 2-0 lead in the match.
Back-to-back kills from Davis gave Mount Holyoke an early 3-1 lead in the third set before both teams traded points until the score was 9-7, Smith, following an attack error from Ava Zollinger. From there, the Pioneers went on a 18-2 run to close out the frame and claim victory.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will travel to NEWMAC foe MIT and will take on the Engineers at 12 p.m. before competing against Salve Regina as part of a tri-match in Cambridge.
For the latest updates on Mount Holyoke College Athletics, follow the Lyons on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our Youtube Channel.
