Lightning Serve Up a Senior Special

On an emotional night at the APEX, the Lightning dispatched of a feisty John Jay squad in straight sets to close out the CUNYAC portion of the schedule and improve their conference record to 6-3.

Prior to Tuesday's match the Lightning honored two of their own in a ceremony highlighting seniors Lakeisha Gordon and Ashley Meany for their contributions to the program.

Both Gordon, dubbed “The Difference Maker” by Coach Wolfgang Lucena and Meany, nicknamed “The Back Row Hitting Specialist,” were presented with plaques and flowers in front of an appreciative crowd. And once the match started it was only fitting that Meany and Gordon played a significant role in the outcome.

Possibly taking advantage of some lingering emotion from the ceremony, the Bloodhounds took an early lead on the error prone Lightning. But Meany started the comeback from the – where else? – back line as she served up an ace among the five consecutive points the Lightning scored with her at the service line. John Jay was determined to make things difficult for Lehman, however, as they battled down to the wire before the Lightning closed out the set 25-23.

Belying their 5-22 overall record entering the match, the Bloodhounds were unrelenting in the second set as well, building a 14-8 lead before Lehman mounted their charge. Captain Jennifer Winkler provided critical steadiness from the service line for the Lightning, including several aces, as the team ran off 10 consecutive points to take control and build a 24-18 lead on the way to the 25-20 second set win.

Lehman saved their most complete set for the third. Receiving contributions from essentially every starter, Lehman built a 19-11 lead. With the match essentially in hand Coach Lucena had Meany re-enter the fray and join Gordon to finish up their final regular season home contest together. Meany even registered two of the Lightning's final four points, putting away two kills to help Lehman close out the third set 25-17. Brown, for her part, finished up with seven kills.

The Lightning have two games remaining, a doubleheader slated for Sunday against the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and SUNY Institute of Technology, before starting CUNYAC Championship play.

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