Women's Volleyball Drops Pair At Tri-Match

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's volleyball fell in a pair of matches during a tri-match at Picknelly Arena Saturday afternoon. The Blazers dropped a New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) tilt to visiting Lesley University, 3-0 (13-25, 23-25, 20-25), to open the day, and then lost to Castleton, 3-0 (17-25, 21-25, 20-25), in non-conference action to close out the action Saturday. The Lynx defeated the Spartans, 3-2 (25-11, 25-15, 24-26, 21-25, 15-12) in non-conference play in between the Blazers contests.

The Blazers move to 4-15 on the season, and 1-1 in NECC play, while Lesley improved to 5-10 overall and 2-0 in conference play, and Castleton moved to 7-7.

Lesley 3, Elms 0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-20)

In the opening set, the two sides traded points until three straight kills from Lesley junior Kaylee Deluga (Dennis, Mass.) sparked a 7-2 run by the Lynx to build a 14-9 advantage. Leading 14-10, Lesley padded their lead with 7-0 runs, featuring a pair of kills from Deluga and junior Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.), to push the Lynx ahead 21-10. Elms received kills from sophomore Danielle Redding (Las Vegas, Nev.), junior Kate Moriarty (Agawam, Mass.) and freshman Gabby Holland (East Longmeadow, Mass.) down the stretch, but a pair of kills from junior Sarah Hollis (Hudson, N.H.) propelled Lesley to the 25-13 win.

The Blazers came out strong in the second set, building a 7-1 lead behind two services aces from freshman Haley Asselin (South Hadley, Mass.) and two kills from Redding. Elms continued to pace the Lynx with kills from freshman Hannah Adams (Deerfield, Mass.), Redding and Moriarty to hold a 19-13 advantage. Trailing 21-14, Deluga powered the Lesley with six straight points, featuring five kills and a block, to trim the Blazers lead to 21-20. Strikes from Adams and Redding kept the Elms advantage, but after a Blazers error tied things at 23-23, Deluga delivered a pair of aces to deliver the 25-23 win for Lesley.

Play was tight in the final set with a kill and an ace from Deluga pushing Lesley ahead 6-5. The Blazer regained control on five straight strikes, featuring two kills from Adams to build an 11-9 lead. A pair of kills from Hollis bookended a 6-0 run by the Lynx as Lesley raced ahead 15-11. Lesley held off the Blazers behind tallies from Deluga and senior Jess Reynolds (Londonberry, N.H.) to maintain a 20-14 advantage. Elms tried to capitalize on Lynx errors in the final points, but a kills from Hollis sealed the 25-20 victory.

The Blazers were led offensively by a double-double from Redding with a team-high ten kills and ten digs. Adams tallied a team-high 16 digs with eight kills, while Moriarty added 13 digs and four kills. Senior Carolyn Campbell (Millers Falls, Mass.) logged a team-high 25 assists in the loss.

Deluga fueled the Lynx attack with a match-high 20 kills and no errors in 35 attempts, along with 12 digs, three aces and two blocks. Abbruzzese recorded a double-double with a match-high 22 digs and 11 kills, while Bednar dished out a match-high 37 assists.

Castleton 3, Elms 0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20)

The Spartans controlled the scoreboard early in the first set, capturing a 9-4 lead behind a pair of strikes from senior Cassidy Tedeschi (Pascoag, R.I.). Adams whittled away at the gap with three consecutive kills to trim the Blazers gap to 11-8. After errors added to the Castleton lead, Moriarty delivered two kills to keep Elms close at 14-11.  The Spartans capitalized on Blazers miscues, followed by kills from senior Alex Madsen (Averill Park, N.Y.) and Tedeschi to build a 20-12 advantage. Diaz and Adams went kill-for-kill, adding three apiece to close the set as Castleton grabbed the 25-17 win.

The Blazers paced the Spartans to open the second set with a service ace from Campbell handing Elms a 9-4 lead. A kill and ace from Redding maintained an 11-7 edge for Elms, but a pair of strikes from Tedeschi trimmed the gap to 12-10. The Blazers held the Spartans off with two kills from Adams and Redding to possess the 18-16 lead. Castleton rallied back with a 6-1 run, featuring two kills from Tedeschi, to regain a 22-19 lead for the Spartans. Castleton wrapped up the 25-21 win with tallies from freshman Olivia Perkins (Lancaster, Mass.) and Madsen.

Elms took a 6-3 lead in the third set behind kills from Moriarty and Adams, but a strike from junior Kimberly Jackson (South Windsor, Conn.) evened the score at 7-7. The Spartans grabbed the lead on a kill from Diaz, and would possess the advantage through the remainder of the set. Blazers errors and three service aces from Jackson pushed Castleton to an 18-9 lead. The Blazers cut the deficit to 18-15 behind kills from Redding and Adams, followed by back-to-back strikes from Moriarty to pull Elms within a point, 19-18. The Spartans held the Blazers off with two kills from Diaz en route to the 25-20 win.

Adams delivered a match-high 20 digs and a match-high 12 kills to lead the Blazers. Moriarty and Redding tallied six kills each, while Redding nabbed 17 digs with two aces and Moriarty had nine digs. Campbell added 22 assists with six digs.

The Spartans were paced by a double-double from Tedeschi with 12 digs and ten kills. Diaz registered seven kills and 13 digs, while freshman Lauren Diaz (Hampden, Mass.) notched 13 digs, and Jackson recorded a team-high 16 digs with a team-high five service aces in the win.

The Blazers will return to action with an NECC tilt against Southern Vermont at Picknelly Arena Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Castleton travels to SUNY-Cobleskill Wednesday night for a 7:00 p.m., while Lesley hosts Mitchell in NECC action Wednesday at 8:00 p.m.

ELMS VOLELYBALL