Marion Abeja '23 going for the kill against Framingham State. Image courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Athletics
By Gigi Picard ’22
Sports Editor
Last weekend, Mount Holyoke Volleyball hosted their third trimatch of the season against Bay Path University and nationally ranked Babson College. The Lyons were shut out in the first match with 3-0 sets by the Babson Beavers. Sarah Bishop ’22 had a team best of eight kills for Mount Holyoke. The Beavers then took on Bay Path and swept the court in 3-0 sets against the Wildcats.
In the final match of the day, the Lyons redeemed themselves by blowing away the Wildcats in 3-0 sets. Bishop came up with a career-best of 13 kills. Brayden Walden ’22 delivered 23 assists and two kills. Walden, according to the Mount Holyoke College Athletics website, recently became the fourth student-athlete in Mount Holyoke Volleyball history to produce 1,500 career assists.
Lucie Berclaz ’25 generated a team-high of 12 digs. Chelsea Galicia ’22 brought up seven digs and a match-best of six service aces. McKenna Crosby ’23 put up four kills and four service aces. Marion Abeja ’23 had five kills and five digs. Gabi Davis ’22 and Mar Simon ’23 each contributed five kills and Iyana Alleyne ’22 had two.
Though Volleyball didn’t win their first match, “The team was actually really positive throughout the whole thing,” Simon said. “We all knew what we were striving for and how much effort we had to put in. I think there was a lot of joy when we won that second match by a landslide.”
According to Berclaz, to prepare for the coming games, the team will adjust their strategy based on a scouting report of their opponent. “We will use our upcoming practices to become comfortable with these adjustments, as well as work on other skills that our team believes [are] important to focus on,” Berclaz said.
“The team played at its highest level of the season this past weekend — we are playing tough against the top teams in our conference and capitalizing on what we do well,” Head Coach Iris Carpio said. “Playing the sport they love is never a hard adjustment … Our goal is to get better every time we step on the court — and so far, we have been doing just that.”
With the 1-1 weekend, the Lyons’ season record advances to 3-8. Mount Holyoke Volleyball will battle Wellesley College in an away match on Saturday, Oct. 2.