Creighton delivers 12 kills in loss

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision against Clark University by scores of 13-25, 14-25, 25-20 and 20-25 on Tuesday night at Kneller Gymnasium in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup.

Sophomore Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) sent home a team-high 12 kills to pace the Wheaton offense. Senior Lindsay Tebbetts (Gilmanton, N.H./Gilford) added eight kills, two digs and three block assists. Sophomores Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) and Taylor Matook (Exeter, R.I./Exeter-West Greenwich) also combined for 16 kills, five digs and three block assists.

Newly minted NEWMAC Player of the Week Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) facilitated the attack with 32 assists, alongside three kills, one service ace, four digs and two block assists. Defensively, sophomore Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma), freshman Anna Strock (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) and sophomore libero Robyn D'Agostino (Three Bridges, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) all had eight digs apiece.

Clark sophomore Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia Prep) posted a match-high 13 kills (.270 hitting percentage), six service aces, nine digs and two block assists. Freshman Savannah Sanford (San Anselmo, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) compiled eight kills, one assist and 11 digs. Senior setter Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif./Immaculate Heart Academy) dished out a match-high 33 assists and tallied four kills, two service aces and two block assists. Freshman libero Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif./Dos Pueblos) bumped up a match-high 21 digs.

The Cougars hit .230 in the contest, registered 52 digs, ten service aces and seven blocks, while Wheaton hit .086 and recorded 41 digs, six service aces and six blocks. The Lyons only led once through the first two sets of play by a 3-0 score in the early going of set two. Clark responded with a 9-3 and never looked back jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a 25-13 victory in first set and a 25-14 triumph in set two.

Facing a sweep on the road, Wheaton responded in set three with 11 kills, six service aces, nine digs and two blocks. Creighton hammered a team-high four kills to guide the offense and Jacobs also connected on three putaways. Set three featured 12 ties and four lead changes before the Lyons pulled away after an attacking error by Clark giving Wheaton a 19-18 advantage. Down the stretch, the Blue and White received three service aces and one kill each from Jacobs and Matook to force an extra session.

Clark answered in the final set despite six ties and four lead changes with a set-high 14 kills and the Cougars best hitting percentage of the night at .275. Sanford and junior Savonnah Rowe (New York, N.Y./Ethical Culture Fieldston School) combined four eight kills and the Cougars defense turned in a set-high 19 digs to close out their second conference victory of the season. Cattaneo led the charge defensively with ten of her 21 digs in set four.

Wheaton (14-12, 4-4 NEWMAC) continues its seven game road trip this weekend at the Hall of Fame Tournament, hosted by Smith College and Mount Holyoke College, on Friday in Northampton, Mass. against Colby College at 7 p.m. Clark (11-13, 2-6 NEWMAC) heads to Western Connecticut State University for a tri-match in Danbury, Conn. on Saturday, October 26 versus UMass Boston at 2 p.m. and the host Colonials at 4 p.m.

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