CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Southern Vermont College was surpassed after taking the first two sets Tuesday night as Lesley University won the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's volleyball contest at Nicholas Athletic Center by a 3-2 margin.

SVC grabbed the opening frame 25-18 before winning the second 25-19 to be on the verge of handing the Lynx their first league loss of the season. The hosts came back to tie the match with 25-18 and 25-20 victories in the third and fourth, respectively, before finishing off the triumph with a 15-8 tally in the fifth.

Southern Vermont (6-18, 2-3 NECC) is back in action on Thursday with the first of its last two regular seasons contests; the Mountaineers will head to Bay Path University for a 7 p.m. NECC start.

SVC junior captain Liv Sowles (Sacramento, Calif.) landed 21 kills while adding 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the year, and freshman Nikki Ramirez (West Covina, Calif.) chipped in with 15 kills, 14 digs, and three service aces. Junior libero Heidy Benitez (Tulare, Calif.) chalked up a match-best 30 digs as sophomore Abigail Landon (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) tallied 31 assists, four digs, and a pair of block assists.

Neither side led by more than one in the first set until Southern Vermont scored five unanswered to start an 11-1 run; Sowles had three kills in that stretch. Lesley cut it down to a five-point deficit with a 6-2 spurt—only to see the Mountaineers win three of the last four with a Ramirez kill and a Benitez ace helping to end the game.

SVC began the second set with a 7-2 run highlighted by two Ramirez aces and a third from Landon. LU would take four of five soon-after to get within two, but the Mountaineers remained in front as Sowles put down back-to-back kills. After the Lynx were able to tie it up at 13-13 with six in-a-row, Southern Vermont answered with four straight to go back on top. Points were traded down the stretch before Sowles won the last two with a pair of kills to put Lesley on its heels.

LU surged to an 8-2 upper hand in the onset of the third as the hosts pushed to extend the match. SVC trimmed it down to a three-point separation with another two Sowles kills, but the Lynx then pulled away as they eventually went up by 10. A 6-1 Southern Vermont run at the end of the stanza—which included a kill from both Ramirez and Sowles—would not be enough as Lesley put it away to make it a 2-1 score for the contest.

The Lynx started the fourth in similar fashion as they went up 8-3 early on. Scoring went back-and-forth as Lesley was able to maintain its cushion through the midpoint of the game; that trend continued late as neither team had consecutive serves for 15-straight points. Down 24-16, the Mountaineers rattled off four in-a-row to get within four and force an LU timeout, but the hosts would grab the final point on an SVC mishap to send it into the decisive fifth.

After Lesley started the final frame with a 4-2 edge, Southern Vermont took four of the next five behind Sowles' 21st kill and another by Ramirez. The Lynx then seized the momentum, however, and scored nine unanswered to set the night at match-point. Ramirez notched her final kill to end the Mountaineers' scoreless streak, but an ensuing kill from the Lynx closed out the tight league tilt.

– #LetsGoSVC –