Women's Volleyball Falls to Lesley University, 3-1

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Elms College freshman outside hitter Alexandra Mack (Wilbraham, Mass.) notched a team-high 10 kills, but Lesley University setter Donna Niosi (Quincy, Mass.) dished out 31 assists and added 10 digs to help pace the Lynx to a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-16, 25-23) victory over the Blazers in Saturday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball match at Picknelly Arena.

With the loss, Elms falls to 1-13 on the season, 0-1 in NECC play, while Lesley improves to 3-9 overall, 1-0 in league competition.

After falling behind in the match, 1-0, Elms rallied in the second set as the Blazers posted an early 16-9 lead and were able to cap the set on a service ace by senior outside hitter Christina Martin (Chicopee, Mass.).

Lesley answered with a win in the third frame, before the sides battled to eight ties and a pair of lead changes in the fourth stanza until the Lynx broke through with a 25-23 win to capture a 3-1 victory in the match.

Martin finished with seven kills and 13 digs, junior middle hitter Rachel Cowan (Ellington, Conn.) notched six kills, eight digs and two solo blocks, and sophomore libero Caitlyn Larvey (Greenfield, Mass.) added 10 digs in the losing effort.

Elms' senior setter Erika Murphy (Torrington, Conn.) distributed 14 of the Blazers' 30 assists in the match, and freshman setter Shannon Bolton (Shelton, Conn.) added 10 helpers of her own.

Lesley was led by libero Rachel Frederickson (Marston Mills, Mass.) who dug a match-high 26 balls, and Megan Ortwein (Easton, Pa.) and Alyson Finbow (Fair Lawn, N.J.) added nine kills each behind Danielle Johnson's (Waterford, Conn.) match-best 13-kill effort to help spark the Lynx in the victory.

Kaitlyn Miller (Leesport, Pa.) added 16 digs and a pair of aces, while Ortwein also floored two aces.

Elms returns to league play on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at Daniel Webster College. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in Nashua, N.H.