KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College volleyball team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday, with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-17, 25-23) win over Smith College and a two rally against Mount Holyoke, 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-16, 15-8) at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.

Records

• Keene State: 16-8
• Smith: 3-17
• Mount Holyoke: 3-14

Up Next

• Keene State returns to LEC play by hosting Plymouth State on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gym.   
• Mount Holyoke hosts Albertus Magnus on Tuesday night while Smith travels to Wellesley College that same evening.

Tale of the Tape - Smith

• Rachel Lamica had a strong outing, recording 20 kills with two service aces, seven digs, and two block assists.  Courtney Collins hit .414 with 13 kills and one solo block, and Kat Carrel and Jeni Severino each had six kills.
• Katie Cunningham had 43 assists and 10 digs, while Riley Bunker and Leslie Hearns tied for the team high with 17 digs each.  Bunker added four service aces, while Taylor Bright had two and Cunningham had one.
• The Owls held the Pioneers to .042 hitting while hitting .152.  Kimani Freeman led the Pioneers with nine kills, and Maca Rojas had 24 assists.

Set One Highlights - Smith

• The Owls fell behind early in the first set, as two straight kills from Xela Miller and a KSC error gave the Pioneers a 9-5 lead.
• Lamica had three kills as part of a 12-5 run that gave the Owls a 17-14 lead, but the Pioneers tied the score behind kills from Kimani Freeman and Rojas.
• Collins had a kill, then a solo block on the next Smith attack as the Owls took a 23-21 lead, and reached set point on a Smith attacking error, but the Pioneers rallied, scoring the final four points of the set.

Set Two Highlights - Smith

• A kill from Kat Carrel gave KSC a 6-4 lead, only to see the Pioneers net the next four for an 8-6 advantage.  
• Kills from Lamica and Cunningham gave the Owls a 14-12 lead, and the Owls nosed further in front as Lamica served up an ace and Severino powered down a kill.
• Two more kills from Severino increased the lead to 22-18, and the Pioneers committed three errors down the stretch as the Owls took a 25-18 set.

Set Three Highlights - Smith

• The Owls led 7-4 as the Pioneers' Ella Prince committed an attack error, but Smith took a 10-9 lead on a kill by Iris Afantchao.
• The lead increased to 12-10 before Smith reeled off six straight points, including two aces from Bunker and two kills from Lamica, that gave the Owls a 16-12 lead and forced Smith into a timeout.
• Collins singlehanded increased the Owls' lead, netting three straight kills for a 23-16 advantage, and it was her kill that gave KSC the set, 25-17.

Set Four Highlights - Smith

• Keene State slowly pulled away, as Szymanski's kill gave KSC an early 9-6 lead.
• Lamica's ace made it 17-15, and Taylor Bright added an ace for a 23-18 lead.  Smith got four straight points, including Freeman's ace to cut the gap to 24-22, but Collins shut the door, with a kill from Cunningham for a KSC match win.

Tale of the Tape - Mount Holyoke

• Lamica's career high 25 kills led the way for Keene State, with 12 more from Collins and eight from Carrel.  Lamica also tacked on five more aces, with six digs and a block assist.
• Cunningham added 45 assists and 18 digs, while Bunker led the way with 19 digs.  Bright and Hearns had 10 apiece.  Bunker added six assists and two service aces.
• Keene State had 15 total blocks, including two solo blocks and three block assists from Collins.

Set One Highlights - Mount Holyoke

• The Lyons took an early lead and never reliquished it, as Cameron Graham had an ace that gave MHC a 12-7 lead.  
• Sasha Simine had a kill and an ace as the lead increased to 21-13, but the Owls rallied behind Lamica, who served the Owls into the match with an ace, and consecutive kills by Niamh Dodd got KSC within 24-19 before Sarah Caggiano ended the set.

Set Two Highlights - Mount Holyoke

• Mount Holyoke again led early, with Natalie Lyon getting an ace and Simine's kill making it 13-7.
• A kill from Brooke Hatanaka and a pair of MHC errors tied the set at 19, but the Lyons ended the set on a 6-3 run, with the final kill coming from Caggiano to take the set.

Set Three Highlights - Mount Holyoke

• Lamica had three aces in 6-0 run that gave the Owls an 8-6 lead, only to have the Lyons go up 11-8 as KSC committed back to back errors.
• Collins fueled another run, as the Owls netted nine straight points for an 17-11 advantage and never looked back, going up 23-16 on Szymanski's kill.
• Cunningham then set up Lamica and Hatanaka for kills as the Owls captured their first set.

Set Four Highlights - Mount Holyoke

• It was more of the same in the fourth, with KSC leaping to a 10-4 lead on Lamica's ace, and Hatanaka's kill made it 15-9.
• Joy Maran and Simine combined for a block to get MHC within 16-14, only to have Cunningham closed the door, serving the Owls to eight straight points, the last of which was an ace for a 24-14 lead.
• After MHC got two back, Carrel powered down a kill to tie the match at two sets each.

Set Five Highlights - Mount Holyoke

• The Lyons scored the first two points of the deciding set, but the Owls got nine of the next 10, opening up a 10-3 lead.  Lamica had four straight kills during that stretch.
• Mount Holyoke got within 13-8 on a KSC error, but Hatanaka had a kill, and Collins and Cunningham combined for a block on Maran as the Owls completed the comeback.