NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College picked up a 3-1 victory over Daniel Webster College in the first game of a non-conference tri-match on Saturday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The hosts (3-3) settled for a split on the day, as they dropped a four-set decision to Wentworth College in the final match of the day.
Wentworth (4-2) swept both of their matches, beating Daniel Webster in four sets and sending the Eagles to 0-3 on the season.
Game 1: Mount Ida 3, Daniel Webster 1
The Mustangs won by scores of 25-20, 25-23, 19-25 and 25-14 thanks to 42 assists from senior setter Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.).
Twelve of those points were slammed home by her classmate, Nicole Batakis (East Longmeadow, Mass.), while Mount Ida got ten kills and 13 digs from freshman Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.).
Madeline Roulier (Pittsfield, Mass.) led the Eagles with eight kills, and she and libero Maggie Belli (Miami, Fla.) each had 18 digs in a strong defensive effort.
Not to be outdone, Mustang junior Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) had 19 digs of her own, while Lucianna Medici (Riverside, R.I.) had 11 digs and four service aces.
Sophomore Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.) had five aces to lead the Mustangs.
On the serving side for the Eagles, Sarah Durocher (Keene, N.H.) aced her opponents on four occasions, while setter Nicole Beard (Shelton, Conn.) piled up 12 assists.
Game 2: Wentworth 3, Daniel Webster 1
The Eagles fought back from a deficit to take the first set 25-21, but Wentworth took back control with 25-20 and 25-13 victories before finishing the match with a resounding 25-8 set-four win.
Junior Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) led the way for Wentworth with 12 kills and 11 digs, while senior Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) had 17 digs in a winning effort. Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Md.) and Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) pitched in with nine kills apiece, and senior Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.) tallied 24 assists.
Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) had four solo blocks and three assists for Wentworth.
For the Eagles, Roulier again led the way with eight kills and also served four aces, while Durocher took a turn setting and piled up 22 assists. Belli grabbed 17 more digs to complete her day.
Game 3: Wentworth 3, Mount Ida 1
Two tight first sets saw a match tied at a set apiece, as Wentworth took the opener 26-24, and the Mustangs fought back for a 25-23 victory. The Leopards however, got stronger as the match went on, and claimed 25-13 and 25-15 victories to seal the match.
Reidy finished a strong day with 13 more kills, while Peixoto piled up 33 more assists in the four-set effort.
Junior Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) was in double-digit kills as well, with ten, while Alkinburg added five kills and three more aces.
Bailey picked up 12 more kills and Ponce recorded 30 assists in the victory for the Leopards, with Katelyn Carlson (Stratford, Conn.) had nine kills and Curran served eight aces.
Mount Ida next takes to the court on Tuesday, September 9th, when they travel to Newbury College for a 7:00 pm match.
Daniel Webster heads to Bridgewater State on Wednesday evening, and Wentworth will travel to WPI at the same time.