SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Mount Holyoke College narrowly earned a tooth-and-nail 3-2 (17-25, 25-13, 25-21, 18-25, 15-12) NEWMAC win over Wellesley College volleyball on Tuesday night.
First-year Eliza Vest (Rumford, R.I.) put up 20 kills and 11 digs for the Lyons (8-5 Overall, 2-3 NEWMAC). First-year Melia Cudiamat (Aiea, Hawaii) recorded 42 assists while senior Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) led all players with 20 digs.
The Blue (10-5 Overall, 3-3 NEWMAC) saw junior Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) move into 10th all-time in career assists with 32 tonight. First-year Delia Noel (Telluride, Colo.) hit double figures with 10 kills and senior Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) snatched 15 digs.
The Blue had 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage in a 25-17 first set. After leading 9-7, a 4-0 Blue run put space between the teams. Wellesley pushed the pace and didn't let the Lyons back within four as the visitors grabbed the opening set.
Mount Holyoke fired back with a 25-13 second. The Lyons' offense was in rare form, connecting for 13 kills and a .435 hitting percentage in a comprehensive frame.
The third set got to 11-11 before Wellesley won four straight. The Lyons flipped the script with an 11-3 run to go up big and finished up the comeback with a kill from junior Josie McFadden (Edmonton, Alberta).
Wellesley evened the match up with a 25-18 fourth sweat. A big middle of the set for Coach Dorothy Webb's pushed the momentum as the Blue cruised to 11 of the final 14 points of the set to force a deciding fifth.
The two squads exchanged blows in the fifth with the match coming down to the wire at 12-12. The Lyons ultimately hung on to outlast the Blue by taking the final three points.
Wellesley will return to Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Thursday night for a non-conference game with Regis College. Mount Holyoke takes on Nichols College on Thursday at 6:00 PM.
