Women's Volleyball Drops Conference Opener at Home

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College volleyball team fell to visiting Lesley University, 3-0 (18-25, 19-25, 11-25), in their New England Collegiate Conference season opener at the Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. 

The Blazers grabbed early leads in two of the three sets, but couldn't fend off the Lynx in the three-set defeat. Senior outside hitter Christine Searles (Tolland, Mass.) led Elms offensively with a team-high seven kills and seven digs. Junior outside hitter Alex Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.), freshman middle hitter Kate Moriarty (Agawam, Mass.) and freshman defensive specialist Ashlee Connors (Springfield, Mass.) each added four kills. Mack recorded 13 digs, while senior libero Caitlin Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) snared a tied game-high 15 digs. Junior setter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) dished out a team-high 15 assists for the Blazers.

Lesley freshman outside hitter Anni Abbruzzese (Croton de Hudson, N.Y.) paced the Lynx with a game-high 11 kills. Freshman outside hitter Ciara Bruning (Centerville, Mass.) had seven kills,, junior outside hitter Jessie Reynolds (Londonberry, N.H.) tallied 15 digs and five kills, and juniors Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Penn.) and Melisa Randall (Fremont, Calif.) recorded 14 digs apiece. Junior setter Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) registered a double-double with a game-high 27 assists and 11 digs.

The Blazers dropped to 3-13 overall, and 0-1 in the NECC, while Lesley improved to 7-2, and 1-0 on the season. Elms will return to the court on Tuesday night for a NECC matchup against Southern Vermont at Picknelly Arena. The contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLLEYBALL