Wilson records 900th career assist in win over WPI

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team turned in a pair of 3-0 victories over WPI and Gordon College earlier today as the Lyons hosted a tri-match inside Emerson Gymnasium. Wheaton defeated conference foe WPI by scores of 25-8, 25-11 and 25-15 and Gordon by scores of 25-21, 25-12 and 25-21.

Junior outside hitter/setter Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) and classmate Taylor Matook (Exeter, R.I./Exeter-West Greenwich) tied for the team-lead in kills, combined over both matches, with 12 apiece. Wilson also added 14 assists – including her 900th career assist in match one – ten digs and five blocks (all assists), while Matook contributed one block solo and six block assists. Sophomore setter Caitlin Hellebrand (Corona, Calif./Santiago) finished with 29 assists (5.80 per set) over both matches.

Casey Hess (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North) compiled 11 kills and Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) chipped in with nine kills to highlight the offense. Defensively, sophomore Olivia Wilson (Alameda, Calif./Head Royce) tallied a team-high 27 digs (5.40 per set) and junior Sarah Alexander (Wayne, Pa./Conestoga) paced the block up front with one block solo and ten block assists. First-years Stephanie Martin (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) and Jodi Katz (Needham, Mass./Needham) combined for 16 digs with Martin guiding the duo with ten.

WHEATON 3, WPI 0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-15)

The Lyons opened up set one with a .593 hitting percentage putting home 16 kills on zero errors and 27 attacks to breeze to a quick 25-8 opening set victory. Wheaton received putaways from six different student-athletes in the set, which included kills from Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch), Hess, Alexander, D. Wilson, Matook and Creighton. Matook led the group with five, while D. Wilson had four and Jacobs sent home three swings.

Wheaton hit .410 for the entire match to go along with 35 assists – including 20 via Hellebrand – 11 service aces, 40 digs and eight blocks (16 block assists). Katz' serving also stood out among the many highlights in the match as the first-year defensive specialist held serve for as many as nine points, combined, throughout the entire match resulting in a team-high four service aces (tied with Jacobs).

WHEATON 3, GORDON 0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-21)

The Blue and White completed its sweep on the afternoon in large part to their defense which fashioned ten blocks (two solo, 16 assists), 39 digs and an .891 serve-receive percentage. Offensively, Hess led the charge with six kills, D. Wilson had four and sophomore Colleen Koen (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable), senior Leigh Hunt (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law), Matook and Creighton all tied with three putaways apiece.

After Wheaton manufactured a 2-0 lead in the match, Gordon pushed back in set three jumping out to a 17-13 advantage. The Fighting Scots took advantage of a set-high seven attack errors by the Lyons and three service aces for the gap on the scoreboard, but Wheaton capitalized on ten errors (nine on attack) by Gordon down the stretch to secure the sweep.

Hess evened the score at 18-18 with her final kill of the afternoon and Hunt eventually made the score 22-21 with a kill on an assist by senior defensive specialist Megan Donahue (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme). The next two out of three points for Wheaton came off the block as Matook combined with Hunt and Creighton for a pair of block assists.

Wheaton (6-7, 1-0 NEWMAC) visits Wellesley College for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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