Tebbetts notches 12 kills in final home match

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team was dealt a 3-2 setback by Smith College by scores of 25-15, 21-25, 25-15, 24-26 and 6-15 on Saturday afternoon in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest on "Senior Day" at Emerson Gymnasium.

Prior to the match, senior Lindsay Tebbetts (Gilmanton, N.H./Gilford) was honored for her contributions towards the women's volleyball program. Tebbetts turned in a memorable "Senior Day" performance with 12 kills, a .303 hitting percentage, two digs and two block assists for the Lyons.

Sophomore Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) paced Wheaton with 14 putaways, two assists, one service ace and seven digs. Classmate Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) compiled 13 kills, one service ace and eight digs, while sophomore Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) had 12 kills, four assists, ten digs and three block assists.

Sophomore setter Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) dished out a match-high 47 assists and also tallied 15 digs and six kills. Wilson now has a team-leading 12 double-doubles on the season. Classmate Robyn D'Agostino (Three Bridges, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) contributed 16 digs, three assists and three service aces.

Pioneers' senior Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) led all student-athletes with 17 kills (.256 hitting percentage) and classmate Paige Sarlandt (Cloverdale, Calif./Cloverdale) registered 16 kills on a .455 hitting percentage and seven digs to fuel the offense. Sophomore Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) recorded a double-double with ten kills and 14 digs to go along with four assists and three service aces. Freshman libero Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif./Ramona) bumped up a match-high 21 digs.

Knowing a victory against Smith would secure a spot in the NEWMAC Tournament, Wheaton's offense came out strong in the first set posting 17 kills on just two errors and 37 attempts for a set-high .405 hitting percentage. Jacobs, Tebbetts and Creighton combined for 12 kills and only error in the opening stanza which saw four tie scores and two lead changes.

Smith bounced back in set two despite hitting .033 with eight kills and seven errors receiving a match-high 17 digs. Voorhes, senior Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) and junior Kristi Hammond (Yona, Guam/St. John's School) all had four digs in the Pioneers 25-21 set two win.

The Lyons responded in set three with a .333 hitting percentage and ten kills highlighted by four from Jacobs. Wheaton also notched four service aces and capitalized on seven attacking errors by Smith to eventually secure a 25-15 victory.

Set four featured a back-and-forth contest with 11 tie scores and five lead changes. Down 24-21, Creighton gave the Lyons a bit of momentum with her only kill of the set to cut into the deficit at 24-22. After an attacking error by Smith, Jacobs evened the score at 24-24 off of a pass from D'Agostino. Smith head coach Fran Vandermeer broke Wheaton's newfound momentum with a timeout which resulted in back-to-back straight points for the Pioneers and a 26-24 triumph to force set five.

Smith never trailed in the final set as Sarlandt and Drummond took over for the visitors. Sarlandt had six putaways and Drummond tallied four kills. The Pioneers hit .476 in the set with 11 kills total, their second-highest total in a set on the afternoon.

Wheaton's (14-17, 4-6 NEWMAC) conference tournament postseason fate hangs in the balance between Emerson and Clark's matchup later tonight. The Lyons need an Emerson victory to continue its 2013 season. Clark holds the tiebreaker over Wheaton. Smith (21-7, 6-4 NEWMAC) awaits its seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament which begins on Tuesday, November 5.

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