Box Score NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated by visiting Babson College, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-19), this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. The Lyons fall to 12-7 overall and 2-5 in league play, while the Beavers have won seven of their last nine matches and improve to 15-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play.
Babson hit at least .242 in every set and trailed just three times during the match.
Senior outside hitter Adara Hamilton (Mercer Island, Wash.) led Wheaton with nine kills and a match-high four aces to go with six digs and junior right side hitter Bailey Madrzyk (Barrington, Ill.) chipped in with eight kills on a .318 hitting percentage to go with four digs. Junior libero Sophie Wilhelm (Saunderstown, R.I.) led all players with 19 digs. Junior setter Hannah George (Duxbury, Mass.) finished with 22 assists and nine digs.
Junior hitters Laura Zuloaga (Naples, Fla.) and Martina Jankovic Chin (Zapresic, Croatia) each spiked for 10 kills to lead Babson. Jankovic Chin hit .533 for the match, while Zuloaga owned a .474 hitting mark, committing just one attack error, and added an ace for the Beavers. Graduate student hitter Allie Puccio (New Hartford, N.Y.) contributed with nine kills and senior libero Maddie Malee (Orlando, Fla.) picked up 15 digs. Sophomore setter Caroline Applewhite (Boca Raton, Fla.) directed the action with 25 assists and picked up four digs.
The Lyons jumped out to an 8-3 lead, paced by a pair of aces from Wilhelm, but Babson put together a nine-point run that included two kills apiece by Puccio and Jankovic Chin. Wheaton pulled even at 17-17, led by a trio of aces from Hamilton, before the Beavers closed the set with an 8-1 spurt. Palomba and Zuloaga recorded kills to make it 19-17, Pell pushed the margin to three with a service ace, and Zuloaga and Puccio added kills late in the stanza.
The Lyons owned an 8-5 margin early in the second frame, before Babson received a pair of kills from Jankovic Chin and another from Puccio during a 6-1 stretch to go in front for good. Palomba and Zuloaga had back-to-back kills as part of another five-point run that extended the visitors' lead to 15-10, and an error by the Lyons and another kill by Zuloaga extended the margin to 19-13. Wheaton was able to rattle off four unanswered points to pull to within 19-17, but it was as close as the home team would get. The Beavers scored six of the final seven points to take the set.
Babson led throughout the third set, using three kills by Puccio to build an early 8-4 edge. The Lyons got as close as three before the Beavers reeled off an 8-2 run that included two kills each from junior Jordan Lapins (Calgary, Alberta) and Zuloaga to take a 17-8 advantage. Babson sat on match point at 24-12 for seven straight possessions, while Wheaton scored seven unanswered points, including a pair of aces from sophomore defensive specialist Isabel Coca (San Marcos, Calif.) and two kills from Hamilton. Jankovic Chin finally put the match away for the visitors with her 10th kill of the night.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, October 16 when they host Gordon College for Senior Day at 12:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, while Babson returns to action on October 15 when it hosts Susquehanna University at 6:30 p.m.
