WELLESLEY, Mass.- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team was swept by the region's top-ranked team on Tuesday night, as the Lyons suffered a 3-0 (19-25, 12-25, 26-28) setback to host Wellesley College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action at the Keohane Sports Center.

Wheaton slips to 8-18 on the season and 2-5 in the league.  Wellesley, which is receiving national votes in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll while being ranked first in the region by the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA), is 23-3 and 7-0.

Wheaton put forward a balanced hitting attack, with freshman Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) leading the way with eight kills.  Classmate Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) and freshman Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) accounted for seven and six kills, respectively.

Freshman Page Gustofson (South Lake Tahoe, Calif./South Tahoe) finished with 14 assists, while classmate Jackie Kochiss (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) had six helpers.

Defensively, Wilson recorded a match-best 13 digs.  Freshman Robyn D'Agostino (Three Bridges, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) turned in three service aces, while Jacobs, junior Lindsay Tebbetts (Gilmanton, N.H./Gilford) and Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) had three blocks each.

For the host, freshman Courtney Lang (Seattle, Wash./Holy Names Academy) and senior Isabel Custodio (Powell, Ohio/Columbus Bishop Watterson) totaled 13 and 11 kills, respectively, with Custodio having 18 assists.  Junior Hilary Ayers (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho/Lake City) contributed 16 assists and five aces, while senior Vivian Hu (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire) posted 12 digs.

Wellesley jetted out to a quick start in the opening set with a 15-4 lead.  The Lyons battled back with a six-point run on the service of senior Frances Trimble (Rapid City, S.D./Northfield Mount Hermon School) to narrow their deficit to 19-13 but came no closer.

In the second set, the Blue scored 14 of the contest's first 16 points en route to the 13-point win. 

The third and final set saw Wellesley take a 16-10 lead before Wheaton answered on a six-point run to tie the score.  The Blue led 24-20, but the Lyons responded with back-to-back blocks from Jacobs and Tebbetts and two Creighton kills to take a 25-24 edge.  Wellesley fought off two Wheaton set points before consecutive kills sealed the win for the Blue.

Wheaton travels to the western side of the state this weekend to compete at the prestigious Hall of Fame Tournament held at league schools Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges.  The Lyons face Westfield State University on Friday at 5:00 p.m. at Mount Holyoke.