NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida took a 2-0 lead and then held off Newbury College in a fifth and deciding set to take a 3-2 victory in non-conference women's volleyball action on Thursday night at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The Mustangs edged out a 28-26 victory in game one, and then, after taking a big lead in the second set, held on for a 25-20 win. The visiting Nighthawks scored 25-17 and 25-23 wins to tie the match at two sets apiece, but Mount Ida led for almost the entire fifth set, which finished 15-11.
Mount Ida sophomore libero Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) had game-highs with ten service aces and 25 digs, while Hillary Kostner (Corona, Calif.) had 12 kills to lead the Mustangs, along with 14 digs of her own.
For the visitors, freshman Courtney Banks (Corona, Calif.) led all players with 15 kills and classmate McKenzie Kish (Eagle River, Alaska) racked up 31 assists and 13 digs.
In a tightly contested first game, the Mustangs began to pull away by taking an 18-13 lead thanks to two service aces by Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.). The junior setter had three service aces and dished out a game-high 39 assists.
The Nighthawks battled back to tie the game at 19 on kills and the teams exchanged points until extra points were needed. Mount Ida sealed the victory thanks to kills by Kostner and senior Emily Hutvagner (Beacon Falls, Conn.).
A run of five consecutive service aces from Koolman in the second set helped Mount Ida open up a ten point lead at 18-8, and they held off a late run from the Nighthawks for the five point victory.
The third set belonged to the Nighthawks from the beginning, as they led by scores of 6-0, 9-1, and 13-4. Set four was more tightly contested, but Banks took control with two kills after the game was tied at 22 apiece.
In the deciding set, the Mustangs took a 3-0 lead thanks to an early kill by Kostner and another service ace by Koolman. The Nighthawks tied the game at four, but Mount Ida took the lead for good on kills by Kostner and Abbey Fedigan (New Fairfield, Conn.). Hutvagner had three kills in the middle of the game, and Kostner finished off the match with her 12th kill of the night.
Hutvagner finished the night with ten kills off the bench for Mount Ida, as did starter Nicole Batakis (East Longmeadow, Mass.). Freshman Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.) killed four balls and had two solo blocks, while assisting on one more.
Freshman Madison Clemmons (Riverside, Calif.) had nine kills and 19 digs for the Nighthawks, while Lauren Watson (Denver, Colo.) killed nine balls herself.
Mount Ida has a busy weekend on tap, as the Mustangs will host a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match against Norwich and Simmons.
The Mustangs will host Simmons at 10:00 am and cap the day with a 2:00 pm match against Norwich.
Newbury will begin New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) play on Saturday with a 1:00 pm game at Bay Path.