NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's volleyball team was defeated by visiting Emerson College, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18), this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. The Lyons fall to 14-10 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the Lions improve to 15-7 and 5-4. 

Emerson hit .295 for the match and hit no lower than .219 in any set during the night. 

Sophomore outside hitter Annah Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) led Wheaton with nine kills on a .261 hitting percentage and senior outside hitter Adara Hamilton (Mercer Island, Wash.) scored seven points with four kills and three aces to go with nine digs. Senior middle hitter Haley McCreight (Greenville, R.I.) put down five kills and added a pair of blocks, while junior libero Sophie Wilhelm (Saunderstown, R.I.) got down for 10 digs and served for two aces. 

First year outside hitter Amelia Combs (Eugene, Ore.) spiked for a match-high 13 kills and hit .250 for the match to go with a block assist to lead Emerson. First year outside hitter Parker Cummings (Rochester, N.Y.) swung for 10 kills fueled by a .421 hitting mark to go with two digs and a block assist. First year middle blocker Brooke Maynez (Las Cruces, N.M.) added eight kills, four blocks and a dig. Junior setter Shea McGovern (Burbank, Calif.) set for 18 assists in her first match of the year, while firing a pair of aces and coming up with four digs and sophomore libero Caroline Davis (Orono, Minn.) picked up a match-high 17 digs to go with an ace. 

The teams played within two points of each other up until the Lyons took its largest lead of the opening set with a 19-16 margin to cap a 7-3 run. Emerson scored four of the next five points to knot the set at 20-20. The teams remained tied at 22-22, before the Lions scored the final three points of the set to take a 1-0 match lead. 

Two points is all that separated the teams again in the second frame, until an 8-2 Emerson run turned a 10-9 deficit into a 17-12 lead. The run was capped by an ace from senior outside hitter Carolyn Vaimoso (Torrance, Calif.). Wheaton closed to within 18-15 following an ace from sophomore setter Zoë Franz (Noblesville, Ind.), but a 6-2 burst, including three kills from Cummings, put the visitors on the brink of victory in the set at 24-17. The Lyons scored the next three points to cut the margin to 24-20, but an attack error gave the set to the Lions for a 2-0 match lead. 

Emerson never trailed in the third set, scoring six of the first seven points, led by a pair of kills from Combs. Wheaton pulled to within 14-13, following a 6-1 run of its own, and later stayed within 19-17, but it was as close as it would get. The Lions scored six of the final seven points, including three kills from Cummings, to take the set at 25-18 for the match win. 

The Lyons return to action on Saturday, October 30 when they travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Clark University at 1:00 p.m., while Emerson heads to Providence, R.I. to play Johnson & Wales University on October 28 at 7:00 p.m.