THE BASICS:

Score: Dean 3, Lesley 1 (26-24, 28-26, 9-25, 25-22)
Records: Dean (1-0); Lesley (0-2)
Location: Willimantic, Conn. (Geissler Gymnasium) 
Date: Saturday, September 2
Time: 2:00 p.m.

The Lead: The Dean College Bulldogs stormed past Lesley College 3-1 on Saturday, paced by 13 kills and 10 digs from Aminah Tsonga. 

How It Happened: 

• The Bulldogs won the first set 26-24 in a back and forth tussle.  Neither team led by more than three points, with Lesley holding the largest lead at 18-13. 5 straight points with Melanie Rios-Nevarez serving, capped by a service ace, led Dean to the first set victory.
• The second was tightly contested as well.  Dean trailed 21-15 before rallying for 7 straight points to take a 22-21 lead and force a Lesley timeout. The Bulldogs went on to win 28-26
• Dean fell behind early in the third set and never recovered, falling 25-9.
• The Bulldogs bounced back to win the final set, 25-22 and take the match. Leading 18-9, Dean gave up 7 of the next 8 points before a timeout from Coach Natalie Cohen helped ease momentum.  The Bulldogs responded with 3 of the next 4 points and held on for the 25-22 victory.

Inside The Numbers: 

• Tsonga led the Bulldogs with 13 kills. Kaitlyn Anderson also added 9 and Melanie Rios-Nevarez had 7.
• Samantha Trullo had 8 digs as well as 2 kills while Sami Mulcahy shined with 16 digs.

GAME 2

THE BASICS:

Score: Eastern Connecticut 3, Dean 0 (25-6, 25-6, 25-7) 
Records: Eastern Connecticut (3-0); Dean (1-1)
Location: Willimantic, Conn. (Geissler Gymnasium) 
Date: September 2, 2017
Time: 4:37 p.m.

The Lead: The Bulldogs were outdone by the Eastern Connecticut Warriors, falling 3-0 in the second leg of Saturday's tri-match.  

How It Happened:

• Dean dropped the first and second set by idential 25-6 scores.  They scored 7 in the final set but were not able to overcome the Warriors balanced attack.

Up Next: The Bulldogs next play on Saturday, September 9th in a doubleheader at Smith College.  The opener is a 9 a.m. tilt with the hosts, followed by an 11 a.m. contest against Johnson State.