Volleyball Falls to Mount Holyoke in Home Opener

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— The MCLA Volleyball team opened their home schedule this evening by welcoming the Mt. Holyoke College Lyons to the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Thursday, September 5, 2023
• Score: Mt. Holyoke 3, MCLA 1
• Records: Mt. Holyoke College Lyons 3-0 (NEWMAC 0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 0-4 (MASCAC 0-0)
• Series History: Mt. Holyoke leads the all-time series 14-5, including a 3-1 win on September 7, 2023. The teams first met on October 25, 1983.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MCLA took the first set of the match by storming back from an early deficit of 4-1 and 9-4 before responding with a 7-1 run to take the lead. The lead was short-lived as the teams bandied the control of the set back and forth, with four ties and lead changes before the Trailblazers hung on for a set victory when Audrey Melson (Champlin Park, MN) used a Shannon O'Brien (Unionville, CT) assist to record the kill.
• The floor began to tilt towards the visitors in the second set. The set began similar to the end of the first set, with the teams trading short runs back and forth until Mt. Holyoke went on a 5-0 run to take a 19-13 lead and held on for a 25-22 win to even the match at one set all.
• The third set went to the Lyons and featured multiple five-point runs for Mt. Holyoke before going into the visitors' column at 25-12, and the decisive fourth set wrapped at 25-18.
• Elizabeth Brown (Lee, MA) led the Trailblazers with ten kills, while Melson was on her heels with nine kills. MHC's Madeline Barton led all players with a game-high 20 kills.
• O'Brien (12) and Beth Harris (San Antonio, TX) (11) both recorded double-digit assists for MCLA, but both were outdone by the Lyons' Saddie Duffrin, who filled the stat sheet with 33 assists.

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Utica University for a non-conference matchup with the Pioneers at Harold T. Clark Athletic Center. The match is scheduled for a noon start.