CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team continued its strong start to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play Friday afternoon, sweeping Manchester University in straight sets inside the Harrington Center.
The Lions took the match 25-22, 27-25, 25-21 to improve to 11-6 overall and 2-0 in HCAC play.
The Mount came out strong in the opening set, jumping ahead early behind kills from Claudia Mueller and Etellina Jackson. MSJ maintained the advantage throughout much of the frame before closing out the 25-22 victory. The Lions hit .242 in the opening set while holding Manchester to a .146 hitting percentage.
The second set proved to be the closest of the afternoon. Manchester pushed the Lions throughout the frame, but the Mount was able to make the key plays late and edge the Spartans 27-25 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. MSJ posted 18 kills in the second set, its highest total of the match.
Mount St. Joseph then put together its best offensive set of the afternoon in the third. The Lions registered 15 kills against just three errors, hitting .387 as a team on their way to a 25-21 victory to complete the sweep.
Jackson led the Lions offensively with 14 kills while hitting .367. Aubrey Miranda added 10 kills on a .333 hitting percentage, while Sydney Doty was extremely efficient with seven kills and just one error on 13 attempts for a .462 hitting percentage. Mueller added five kills on seven swings, hitting .571, while also leading the Lions at the net with six blocks.
The Mount used a balanced setting attack with Ginger Johnson handing out a team-high 22 assists and Ava Moore adding 15. Moore also recorded two of the Lions' three service aces.
Defensively, Lyndsey Stephenson led the way with 10 digs, followed by Mary Kolozsy with eight and Tori Chasteen with seven. MSJ finished the match with 45 digs and seven total blocks.
As a team, the Lions hit .269 with 45 kills and 16 errors on 108 attempts. Manchester finished with 40 kills and hit .167. The Mount also held advantages in assists, 41-38, and digs, 45-38.
UP NEXT: The Lions continue HCAC play in their next match.
