NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College volleyball team honored lone senior Emily Bouthillette Saturday afternoon prior to the start of its non-conference contest against Western New England College. The Lyons fell to the Golden Bears 3-1 (23-25, 29-27, 18-25, 17-25), before dropping a 3-0 (16-25, 26-28, 20-25) match to Western Connecticut State University in Emerson Gymnasium. 

WNEC 3 - WHEATON 1
In a tightly contested match, Western New England captialized on its opportunities down the stretch to pick up the 3-1 win.

Alona Kornberg led the Golden Bears with 13 kills and 13 digs, while Emmaline Chiodini ended the afternoon with 12 kills and 14 digs. Jenna Leuck dished out a match-high 33 assists.

First-year Nikita Selivan paced the Lyons with 13 kills to go with six digs and two blocks. Becca Houghton ended her day with 31 assists and 15 digs, while Stephanie Martin led the team with 21 digs. Sophomore Claire Cansler finished with a match-high three blocks for Wheaton to go with eight kills. 

Western New England used a quick start to hold off Wheaton down the stretch in a 25-23 victory in the opening set. The Golden Bears led by as many as four points before the Lyons made a late run to tie the set 21-21 on a Selivan kill. The two sides trade points after that with the Golden Bears ending things on a Cassandra Holmes kill. 

In the second set, the Lyons came out strong taking as much as a five point lead. However after tying the match at 12-all on a Wheaton attacking error Western New England challenged the Lyons for every point. Tying the set several times and trading possession of the lead, Wheaton was finally able to put away the set on an ace by Sadie Stewart and attacking error by the Golden Bears. 

The third set started with the Lyons taking the early lead just to have it erased by a 12-1 run by Western New England on strong serves by Kornberg and Torie Howdeshell. Trailing 16-10, Wheaton clawed its way back into the set with a 7-0 run led by Houghton. The lead would be short lived with WNEC taking over on unforced errors by Wheaton. 

In the fourth and final set, the Golden Bears never relinquished control of the lead after taking a quick 7-2 advantage. The Lyons pulled within a point on several ocasssions but would never be able to take over. 

WCSU 3 - WHEATON 0
Karissa Smith of Western Connecticut State led all players with 12 kills, while teammate Kamari King knocked down eight. Danielle Kaminsky led the Colonials with 22 assists.

Sophomore Cathryn MacGregor paced Wheaton with nine kills and 12 digs, while Cansler put down eight, while earning a match-high two blocks. 

The Colonials put down 12 kills and committed just two errors in a 25-16 opening set win. Western Connecticut State turned a 6-6 tie into a 10-7 lead behind kills from Smith, Kaminsky and Alyssa Dam. WCSU made several runs late in the set to put the game out of reach for the Lyons. 

Wheaton came out strong to start the second set, taking an 8-4 lead with back-to-back aces by Houghton and two MacGregor kills. The Colonials responded with a 5-0 run of their own, taking a 9-8 advantage. Smith ended the set in the Colonials favor with two of her 12 kills. 

King opened the final set with a kill to give her team a lead they would never let go of. Wheaton only managed to pull within three points the rest of the way. 

The Lyons return to the court on Saturday, Oct. 22 with a tri-match at Wesleyan (Conn.). Wheaton will take on the hosts at 12 p.m. before facing off with Connecticut College around 3 p.m. 

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