Release courtesy of Pratt Athletics
BROOKLYN -- Thanks to a stunning 22 aces over three sets, including 12 from juniorDiana Lezama, the Cannoneers knocked off Medgar Evers, 3-0, in Hudson Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action Monday night at the Pratt ARC.
Lezama (Bethesda, MD/Hotchkiss) led all players with nine kills and 12 aces, totalling only one service error in controlling the match from serve and on the attack as Pratt hit a season-high .220 as a team. Freshman Charlotte Burch (Lawrence, KS/Seabury) threw down seven kills on 15 attempts with only two errors for a match-best .333 attack percentage, and sophomore Alli Houghton (Allentown, PA/Emmaus) handed out a match-high 20 assists as the Cannoneers took control of fourth place in the HVIAC.
For Medgar Evers, Kalifa Roberts (San Fernando, Trinidad/La Romain) led all players with 13 digs and paced the Cougars with four kills.
Lezama set the tone early, as back-to-back aces from the junior put Pratt out in front 12-1 to open the night. A Houghton dump kill followed by a Lezama kill extended the lead to 19-6, and a Nicole Garcia (Bogota, Columbia/Damascus) kill closed out Pratt's 25-9 Game 1 win. For the set, Pratt fired 11 aces and hit .353 on the attack.
Consecutive kills from Burch and Lezama forced an Avril O'Neal timeout with Pratt on top 16-9 before back-to-back aces from Roberts brought the Cougars to within 17-12. Houghton then answered with two straight aces of her own in extending Pratt's lead to 20-12, and Pratt outlasted a late Medgar Evers surge to hold on for a 25-19 win.
Two consecutive of HVIAC aces leader Houghton's seven service aces put Pratt on top 4-0 to open the third, and a Garcia ace gave the Cannoneers a 9-3 cushion. Medgar Evers hung around thanks to a Charlena Mackey (Brooklyn, NY/East New York Family) ace that pulled the Cougars to within 17-14, but it was as close as Pratt would allow. Three straight Lezama aces highlighted an 8-0 Pratt run to close out the 25-14 victory to take the match.
At 5-7 and 2-3 in the HVIAC, Pratt returns to play on Thursday in league action at 8:00 p.m. at Yeshiva.
