NORTHAMPTON, Mass.- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team won Tuesday night's opening set at New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Smith College before the host Pioneers won the next three in handing the Lyons a 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 14-25, 25-27) loss in Ainsworth Gymnasium.

Wheaton moves to 5-10 overall and 1-3 in league play, while Smith improves to 5-6 and 2-2.

Freshman Dierdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) returned from injury to lead the Lyons with 10 kills and 16 digs.   Classmates Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) and Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) finished with eight kills apiece.

Freshman setter Page Gustofson (South Lake Tahoe, Calif./South Tahoe) turned in 20 kills, while classmate Jackie Kochiss (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law) added 12.

Freshman Robyn D'Agostino (Three Bridges, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) contributed 14 digs, and classmate Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) added six digs and five kills.

The Lyons came out strong in the first set, turning a five-all contest into an 11-6 advantage.  Smith eventually led 19-18 courtesy of a service ace before Wheaton closed things out by scoring seven of the final nine points.

The Pioneers led 7-1 in the next set and extended their advantage to 12-3 on a Lyon attacking error.  The visitors didn't get within eight points the rest of the way.

Wheaton grabbed an early lead in the third set, but 10 consecutive Smith points matched the 12-3 score from the previous set.  The hosts led 19-8 before posting the 11-point win.

Set four was nip-and-tuck throughout, with neither team holding an advantage of more than four points.  The Pioneers led 14-10 before the Lyons responded and knotted the score at 20.  Up 24-23, the Lyons had an opportunity to force a deciding fifth set, but Smith bounced back to tie the set at 25 before winning the match when Wheaton returned a Pioneer serve out of bounds.

Wheaton heads to Washington, D.C., this weekend for the Worthington Classic at Gallaudet University.  The Lyons face Trine (Ind.) University on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and Marymount (Va.) University at 6:00 p.m. before playing the host at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.