WVB: Lasell outlasts Mount Holyoke in non-conference match

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Freshman Mckenna McCool (Loomis, Calif.) smashed a season-high 18 kills Thursday evening, leading Lasell University to a 3-2 victory over Mount Holyoke College in non-conference women's volleyball action in Howard Gymnasium.

After the teams split the first two sets, Lasell used a late rally to pull out a 26-24 victory in the third set. Mount Holyoke responded with a decisive 25-5 verdict in the fourth set, but the Lasers used a seven-point surge to take command of the fifth set before posting a 15-6 win to clinch the match.

With the win, Lasell improves to 14-11 overall while the Lyons drop to 4-16.

McCool attacked at a .333 clip (18-6-36) and added four aces while finishing one dig short of a double-double. Freshman Camila Lopez (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 15 digs. Freshman Hope McFall (Bellingham, Wash.) added 13 digs, and senior Jess Langan (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) was good for 37 set assists.

Seniors Gabi Davis (Keller, Texas) and Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) combined for 23 kills for the Lyons, with Bishop posting a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs. Senior Chelsea Galicia (Altadena, Calif.) and junior Marion Abeja (Kumi, Uganda) also reached double digits in digs with 14 and 13, respectively, and junior McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.) made a match-high six blocks and five service aces.

The home team appeared poised to go up two sets to one, leading 23-19 in the third, but Lasell rattled off five straight points, including kills by Lopez and McCool and an ace by Langan. A winner by Abeja evened the score at 24-all, but McCool smashed back-to-back kills to give the Lasers the set.

The Lyons did not take kindly to the Laser comeback and raced to a 13-3 lead in the fourth set. After a couple back and forth points to make it 15-5, Mount Holyoke rallied with 10 consecutive points, sparked by three kills by Davis and two aces by Crosby, to close out the set.

With Lasell leading just 5-4 in the fifth set, McCool keyed the Lasers' seven-point surge with two kills and two aces. Senior Meg Roberts (Newington, Conn.) added pair of kills as Lasell closed out a 15-6 win in the set to clinch the match.

The Lasers play their final home match of the season on Friday, hosting Emmanuel College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) makeup match at the Athletic Center at 6:00 p.m. The regular-season finale is Saturday at a GNAC tri-match with Dean College at Rivier University in Nashua, N.H. Mount Holyoke wraps up its season Saturday with a home match against Emerson College.

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