Alexander powers Wheaton offense with ten kills

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team had its four-match winning streak snapped as Emerson College picked up a 3-0 victory by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-23 over the Lyons in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday night inside Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton junior middle hitter/right-side hitter Sarah Alexander (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) put home ten swings for a .389 hitting percentage and two blocks (one solo) to guide the offense. Junior Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) registered eight kills, a team-high 23 assists, six digs and one block assist. Classmate Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif./Point Loma) contributed seven kills (.312 hitting percentage), one assist, a dig and one block assist. Sophomore setter Caitlin Hellebrand (Corona, Calif./Santiago) chipped in with 21 assists, five digs and one kill.

Emerson sophomore outside hitter Amanda Linzmeyer (Huntington Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach) led all student-athletes with 12 kills (.296 hitting percentage) alongside ten digs for third-straight double-double and sixth overall this season. First-year setter Elaine Nichols (Bountiful, Utah/Highland) ran the offense with a match-high 30 assists (.375 set percentage), eight digs and three block assists. Sophomores Elizabeth Reid (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) and Jules Augustine (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) and first-year Brittany Schoellkopf (Pacific Palisades, Calif./Pacific Palisades Charter) all added six kills apiece.  First-year defensive specialist Sam Harton (Cartersville, Ga./Darlington School) compiled a match-high 14 digs.

The first set of the match featured six ties and one lead change before Emerson fended off a late rally from Wheaton after breaking open a 20-20 tie with a kill from Reid and four errors by the Lyons. Reid, Augustine and Linzmeyer combined for nine kills in the set (three each).

Set two went back and forth as the middle stanza showcased a set-high nine ties and five lead changes. Tied 16-16, Emerson used a 9-6 run to take the set highlighted by seven kills from Linzmeyer including three putaways during its final run. Wheaton junior outside hitter Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) matched Linzmeyer with seven putaways on 11 attempts (.636 hitting percentage).

Wheaton jumped out to a 17-10 advantage in set three, but a timeout after back-to-back kills by Alexander, which capped the seven-point advantaged, cooled down the offensive output for the hosts. Emerson charged back in large part to six errors by Wheaton and a kill from Augustine to put the score level at 18-18. Emerson closed out the set with three kills – with two coming from sophomore Annie Hall (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) – and four errors by the Lyons to complete the sweep and also claim its fourth-straight victory.

Wheaton (12-9, 3-2 NEWMAC) travels to MIT on Thursday at 7 p.m. Emerson (13-7, 4-2 NEWMAC) will play in the UMass-Boston Invitational this Friday and Saturday.

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