SOUTH HADLEY, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team
finished fifth out of eight squads in the silver bracket at the
two-day Hall of Fame Tournament, which came to an end on Saturday
in Mount Holyoke College's Howard Gymnasium. Senior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) earned a spot on the
all-tournament team for the Lyons, now 17-13.
The Blue and White dropped its opening match against Bridgewater
State College, 3-0 (18-25, 23-25, 20-25) on Friday before going 2-0
on the second day, downing Gordon College, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25,
25-13, 25-19) and Colby College, 3-0 (27-25, 25-17, 25-22).
During the weekend's action, junior setter Becca Rose
(Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) eclipsed the
3,000-assist and 200-ace plateaus for her career while becoming the
first player in program history to post a pair of 1,000-assist
seasons. Sophomore Miranda Howitt (San Francisco,
CA/International) continued to ascend the program's
single-season kills list, as she became the first Lyon with 400
since Bonnie Campbell '01 in 2000 and the first
underclassman to reach the mark since Campbell during the fall of
1998.
Howitt posted 10 kills against Bears, while Kraus added eight.
Rose turned in 26 assists, and sophomore Emily Davisson
(Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) had 12 digs.
Classmate Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading
River) had four blocks.
Kraus totaled 15 kills and four blocks against Gordon, while
Howitt and McGrath added 11 kills apiece. Rose contributed a
double-double with 42 assists and 13 digs, Davisson and freshman
Olanna Nissim (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) paced the
defense with 16 digs apiece, and junior Kristen Hunt
(Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) had 13.
Versus Colby, Kraus had another well-rounded line with 13 kills,
five aces and three blocks. Howitt provided 15 kills and seven
digs, McGrath notched five kills, and Rose dished off 40 assists.
Davisson, Hunt and Nissim tallied 14, nine and eight digs,
respectively, while freshman Rachel Vergara (Needham,
MA/Needham) matched Kraus with three blocks.
With three regular season matches remaining, Wheaton plays its
final two New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference
(NEWMAC) contests this week as it pushes to claim a spot in the
league tournament. The Lyons host Clark University on Tuesday at
7:00 p.m., as each team is tied for sixth in a conference where
eight squads qualify for the postseason.
