THE BASICS 
Lesley University, 0 vs Elms College, 3 (25-7, 25-18, 25-21)

Records: 
Lesley University Lynx (0-4, 0-0 NAC)
Elms College Blazers (3-2, 0-0 GNAC)

Location: Lexington, Mass. – Minuteman HS Gym

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025

THE LEAD — Elms College spoiled the 2025 home-opener for Lesley University, earning a 3-0 (25-7, 25-18, 25-21) women's volleyball sweep of the Lynx on Tuesday evening at Minuteman High School.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Behind the service game of Lilliana Simmons, the Blazers raced out to a commanding 12-0 lead in the opening set with Simmons serving up five aces during the blitz en route to a 25-7 first set final.
• Lesley settled down and regrouped in the second frame, building an early 9-6 lead following a kill by sophomore middle hitter Abbie Price (Waco, Tex.). LU led 16-15 midway through the frame before Elms rallied for six consecutive points to take a 22-15 advantage before three straight Lynx points pulled the hosts to within striking distance at 22-18 following a kill by sophomore Alawnah Dunda (Fort Ann, N.Y.). EC answered with a 3-0 spurt to close out the set with a 25-18 win.
• The visitors built up a comfortable 14-5 lead in set three before the hosts surged mid-set with an 8-2 flurry fueled by kills from Price and junior Rayann Fatahi (Arlington, Mass.) and aces from Korinne Hall-Johnson (North Brunswick, N.J.) and Ariel Udell (Lexington, Mass.) to pull within three at 16-13. Despite outscoring Elms by an 8-5 margin down the stretch to make it close, the Lynx dropped the final frame 25-21 to fall in their home-opener, 3-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dunda finished with a career and match-high eight kills and a .462 hitting clip for LU while Udell led all players with 11 digs in the setback.  Junior Shae Thomas (Clayton, N.C.) dished out 12 assists.
• Simmons paced Elms with six aces, five kills and four digs while Jaylen Holman finished the night with 19 helpers, three aces and two kills.
• The 21 points for Lesley in the third set was their highest set total to date during the 2025 campaign.
• The Lynx combined for nine kills in the final set, a single-set season-high.

UP NEXT

• Lesley returns to action on Saturday, September 13 for a non-conference tri-match at Salem State University where they'll take on the Rhode Island College at 1:00 PM followed by the host Vikings at 3:00 PM
• EC hosts Mass. Maritime on Thursday, Sept. 11 at Picknelly Arena in Chicopee, Mass. at 7:00 PM.