BABSON PARK, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team
went to five sets for the fourth time this year on Tuesday night
and could not hold off a Babson College rally, losing 3-2 (25-19,
25-19, 19-25, 14-25, 13-15) during New England Women's and Men's
Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in Staake Gymnasium. The Lyons
are now 5-8 overall and 0-3 in the league, while the Beavers are
6-5 and 3-0.
Sophomore Miranda Howitt (San Francisco,
CA/International) paced Wheaton with 19 kills while adding
12 digs, senior Lauren Kraus (Westboro,
MA/Westboro) tallied 15 kills, and sophomore
Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading
River) turned in 12. Junior Becca Rose (Sudbury,
MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) had 51 assists and 11
digs.
Defensively, sophomore Emily Davisson (Carpinteria,
CA/Laguna Blanca School) led the Lyons with 18 digs, and
freshman Olanna Nissim (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich)
had 14.
For the hosts, sophomore Meg Flaherty (Hollis, NH/Hollis
Brookline) tallied 20 kills and 17 digs, junior
Nina Milovanovic (Belgrade, Serbia/Burnaby North
Secondary) recorded 19 kills, and freshman
Kathleen Lynch (Quincy, MA/North Quincy)
contributed 52 assists.
After Babson had rallied from a two-set deficit to force a
deciding fifth frame, the hosts scored the first three points of
the final set before a 4-0 run by the Lyons put them in front. From
there, the squads played through seven more ties before the
visitors pulled in front by a 12-10 count. However, following a
Beaver timeout, the hosts rattled off five of the final six
points.
Wheaton is back in action on Thursday at Salve Regina University
at 7:00 p.m.