NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team went 1-1
on Saturday during a tri-match in Emerson Gymnasium, downing
visiting Bridgewater State College, 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21,
23-25, 15-8) after falling to the United States Coast Guard
Academy, 3-0 (18-25, 12-25, 23-25) in New England Women's and Men's
Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.
In the middle match, Coast Guard remained undefeated with a 3-0
(25-17, 25-12, 25-21) win over Bridgewater State. The Lyons moved
to 5-7 overall and 0-2 in the league during the day, while Coast
Guard increased its record to 8-0 and 2-0. Bridgewater State is
2-5.
Against Coast Guard, sophomore Miranda Howitt (San
Francisco, CA/International) neared a double-double with
10 kills and eight digs, while senior Lauren Kraus
(Westboro, MA/Westboro) notched seven kills. Junior
Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional)
turned in 29 assists, while classmate Kristen Hunt
(Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) and sophomore Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) had 14
digs apiece.
During the opening set, 9-9 proved to be the eighth tie before
Coast Guard used a 6-0 run and never again led by fewer than three
points. The visitors strung together another 6-0 run to blow open a
5-3 second set before the Lyons provided a tough challenge in the
third set. After Wheaton pulled out to a 14-8 advantage, Coast
Guard called a timeout before coming back to take the lead by as
many as three points. The Lyons rallied to knot the score at 23,
but the Bears tallied the final two points, winning the match on an
ace.
Kraus dropped 20 kills while adding four blocks against
Bridgewater State, Howitt had 13 kills and four aces, and sophomore
Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading
River) turned in 11 kills and six blocks. Rose notched 42
assists, while she, Davisson and freshman Olanna Nissim
(Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) had 13 digs apiece. Nissim added
five aces, and Hunt tallied a team-high 21 digs.
In the opening set, a 10-3 run gave the Lyons a 13-11 lead
before the Bears rallied to go on top for good at 19-18. McGrath
provided two blocks and a kill over the final three points of a
closing 6-0 second-set run to lift Wheaton before the teams battled
through 10 ties in the third set, when the hosts took the final
lead at 19-18 and Kraus buried a kill to clinch the win. The Blue
and White nearly closed out the Bears in four, but the visitors
turned a 19-13 deficit into victory with a 12-4 run. After five
ties left the teams knotted at five in the final set, a 10-3 jaunt
carried the Lyons to the match triumph, with Kraus notching two
kills and a block in that time.
Wheaton is back in action on Tuesday at NEWMAC foe Babson
College at 7:00 p.m.
