Lyons now 5-3 in NEWMAC play, clinch playoff spot in NEWMAC Tournament for first time since 2008

POSTGAME COMMENTS

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team made quick work of Clark University on Tuesday night inside Emerson Gymnasium with a 3-0 conference victory by scores of 25-18, 28-26 and 25-15 to push its winning streak to four-straight matches.

Wheaton junior outside hitter/setter Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) notched her 16th double-double of the season with 14 kills (.367 hitting percentage) and 13 assists alongside seven digs and three block assists to pace the attack. Classmate Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) added nine kills (.389 hitting percentage) and four digs, while sophomore Colleen Koen (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) contributed six kills, one assist and two digs.

Junior middle hitter/right-side hitter Sarah Alexander (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) chipped in with six putaways (.750 hitting percentage) and one block assist. Sophomore setter Caitlin Hellebrand (Corona, Calif./Santiago) dished out 16 assists, three digs and one kill to aid the offense. On the defensive end, first-year Stephanie Martin (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) tallied a match-high 14 digs and also fashioned an .895 serve-receive percentage. Sophomore defensive specialist Anna Strock (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) bumped up six attacks and went .932 on serve-receive (13 attempts) in the contest.

Clark junior outside hitter Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M./Sandia Prep) and first-year outside hitter Marina Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/CPN) tied for the team-high in kills with seven apiece. Ramos also added 12 digs, while Glass-Smythe fashioned 11 digs. Senior Savonnah Rowe (New York, N.Y./Ethical Culture Fieldston School) connected on six kills and sophomore setter Tori Whitney (Sunderland, Mass./Frontier Regional) handed out 24 assists to highlight the Cougars on the night.

Down 1-0 in the match, Clark jumped out to a 17-12 advantage in the second set using four kills combined by Smythe and Rowe, which accentuated the run. Wheaton bounced back with three-straight kills – including two from Wilson – to cut its deficit to 17-15 before Strock sent home a pair of service aces to level the score.

The remainder of the set went back and forth until the Lyons capitalized on an attack error to take a slim 27-26 lead, which broke the ninth and final tie of the second stanza. Hellebrand followed with her first and only kill of the match to secure a 2-0 lead in the matchup. Wheaton then used that momentum in the third set to wrap up its fifth conference victory of the season.

The Lyons hit .293 (42 kills, 13 errors, 99 attempts) on the evening, dealt out 36 assists and tallied seven service aces, 41 digs and three blocks. Strock guided the hosts with a match-high four service aces.

Wheaton (16-10, 5-3 NEWMAC) will play in the Hall of Fame Tournament this weekend at Amherst College. The Lyons open up the tournament on Friday against Bowdoin at 7 p.m. and also will play Wesleyan (10 AM) and Williams (2 PM) on Saturday. Clark (8-13, 2-6 NEWMAC) travels to WPI next Tuesday for a league matchup at 7 p.m.

For the latest on Wheaton College Athletics, follow the Lyons via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.