Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics.
Moutn Holyoke Volleyball team fell to Clark University 3-1 on Tuesday, Oct. 31 in a match at home.
By Zellie Calavita ’26
Staff Writer
Mount Holyoke College Volleyball hosted its last home game of the season against Clark University, a fellow New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference member, on Tuesday, Oct. 31. Cheering them on in the stands were entrants of the team’s Halloween costume contest, which gave out prizes for both individual and group costumes.
Mount Holyoke began the match with a 25-18 first set victory. Clark failed to overtake the lead as Volleyball Captain Lucie Berclaz ’25’s set-leading total of five kills, coupled with Clark’s 10 errors, led the Lyons to an initial 11-0 victory.
Clark immediately turned their play around and went on to win 3-1 despite the Lyons’ hot start, with the scores of the four sets being 25-18, 9-25, 18-25 and 20-25, respectively. Mount Holyoke’s kill leaders were Berclaz and Madeline Barton ’26, each with 11. Kyra Staples ’27 and Amelia Ringor ’26 each had 30 digs, with 102 total digs for the Lyons. Serena Li ’27 led the team in hitting percentage at 0.250.
After the game, costume contest judges Assistant Vice President for Student Life Alicia Erwin, President Danielle R. Holley and Biology Professor Craig Woodard gave out the prizes for top costumes. The Mount Holyoke Tennis team, dressed as their coach Aldo Santiago, and the Mount Holyoke Basketball team, dressed as the United States President, First Lady and their secret service agents, were awarded prizes. Costumes featuring Western Barbie and Jorge were also recognized.
“I appreciate that a lot of students and other athletes showed up for the game, and it was nice that President Holley and the other judges were there,” Ringor said of the fans and the contest. “Also, shout-out to the basketball team for their great president and secret service group costume and staying in character the whole time, because it was really funny.”
As for the game, “I think it was a great team effort, and a lot of people were balling out,” Ringor said. She also noted the team’s high dig per set number, which was an average of 25.5 versus their season average of 18.57.
Mount Holyoke Volleyball finished off the season 11-16 overall and 1-10 in conference games. Berclaz is looking forward to what next season will bring, saying, “We’re not losing any seniors, and we get the chance to use everything that we worked for this season and build on it.”