NORTON, Mass. – For the second straight season the Wheaton College volleyball team fell to visiting Rhode Island College, falling 2-3 (22-25, 20-25, 32-30, 25-20, 12-15) Thursday night in a gritty match in Emerson Gymnasium.

Wheaton (7-8) topped Rhode Island College (5-5) in kills (57-55), aces (13-10) and digs (92-88), but the Anchormen held a 15-2 advantage in blocks and finished with a .151 attacking percentage to the Lyons .090.

The Anchromen took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 win in the opening set with the Lyons hitting a match low -.036. Jillian Ward recorded five kills in the set for Rhode Island College, while Cathryn MacGregor and Claire Cansler each put down three for the Lyons. There were 12 tie scores and five lead changes in the first set.

The second set was another tightly contested back and forth, this time with the Lyons generating some attacking power. Ward and teammate Courtney Lambrese once again led the Anchormen's attack, while the Lyons had several players contribute. The two sides battled back and forth until the Anchromen took the lead for good back-to-back-to-back attacking errors by Wheaton and a Lambrese ace.

Rhode Island College dominated the start of the third set, running to an 11-2 lead. The Anchormen continued to have the set in their hands until consecutive service aces by Stephanie Martin re-energized the Lyons, who began their comeback campaign. The Lyons remained just one point behind the Anchormen until the end when they did just enough to avoid the sweep and capture the 32-30 win.

Neither team hit well in the fourth set, relying on the other team's errors for points. Wheaton edged Rhode Island in attacking percentage, hitting .048 to the Anchormen's .000. MacGregor finished with a set-high five kills, while Cansler and Allison Cox each knocked down three for Wheaton.

Leading 7-6 at the side change in the fifth and final set, the Anchormen went onto finish the set in their favor.

MacGregor ended the night with a match-high 20 kills for Wheaton, while pulling up 23 digs, one block and one service ace. Cansler finished the night with 12 kills, while Cox had 10. Becca Houghton had a team-high 29 assists and Martin ended with a match-high 34 digs.

Lambrese led Rhode Island College with 19 kills, while Ward put down 18. Abigayl White finished with a match-high 37 assists and Megan Armburg had a team-high 23 digs. Jammaj Derefaka ended the night with a match-high six blocks. 

Wheaton returns to the court on Saturday, Sept. 24 for New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match at Mount Holyoke. The match is set for 1 p.m.  

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