NEWTON, Mass. – On a night in which seniors Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) and Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) were honored for their careers, Mount Ida College collected 23 service aces en route to a 3-1 victory over visiting Salem State University in non-conference women's volleyball action.
The Mustangs won the first two sets 25-18 and 25-17, before the Vikings got on the board with a 25-23 victory to force a fourth set, where Mount Ida handled the visitors 25-13 to improve to 11-16 on the season and send Salem State to a 6-16 mark.
Davis set up 28 assists and had a team-high 9 digs, while Koolman added to her career-record 1,555 digs with eight of her own, and had three service aces, as the Mustangs tied for fifth most aces in a four-set match in school history after recognizing the two seniors in a pre-game Senior Day ceremony.
Mount Ida raced out to an 11-5 lead in the first set, but Salem State kept the match close with three kills by Allison Vellucci (Northville, Mich.) to cut the deficit to 19-17. The Mustangs ensured a 1-0 lead by winning the final five points, which included kills by Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.) and Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.), and an ace by freshman Kristy Walton (Fairhaven, Mass.), who led the team with 8 individual aces on the night.
Eight team aces came in the second set for Mount Ida, including three straight by Walton, who also had 10 kills on the night. Back to back kills by Walton and two straight aces from junior Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass.) helped open the lead to 14-7 and Reidy added one of her team-high 15 kills to close out the game and put Mount Ida up 2-0.
The third set stayed a tight affair, with the teams knotted at 8 and then again at 11 before a 7-0 spurt that included kills by Kaleena Kara (Douglas, Mass.), Jasmine Severino (Lawrence, Mass.), and Hannah Mullarkey (Salem, Mass.) put the Vikings ahead to stay. That run was served by senior Emily Peay (Lebanon, Conn.), who led the Vikings with 11 kills and also contributed seven digs and three block assists.
Severino added four kills and Mackenzie Salls (Turners Falls, Mass.) posted 22 assists for Salem State, who managed to avoid defeat in straight sets by holding off the Mustangs, despite Mount Ida cutting a 24-20 deficit to just one point thanks to back to back aces by Alkinburg. An attacking error by the Mustangs put Salem State on the scoreboard.
Mount Ida seized control of the fourth set, and the match, with an 8-1 run that saw Walton serve four more consecutive aces. A kill by Davis and Reidy's 15th and final kill of the night sealed the match for Mount Ida, who improve to 11-0 all-time against the Vikings.
The Mustangs will play their final regular season and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) games next Friday evening when they travel to Anna Maria for a tri-match with the Amcats and Norwich University. Mount Ida will look to improve on a 2-7 GNAC record and book a trip to the postseason tournament.
Salem State heads to Gordon on Thursday evening for a 7:00 pm North Shore Cup contest.