NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore outside hitter Annah Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) and junior right side hitter Emily Hickey (Kennebunk, Maine) each recorded career-highs in kills to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team to a pair of 3-1 victories over visiting Smith College and Western New England University this afternoon in tri-match play at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. The Lyons improve to 8-2 on the season. Wheaton's win over Smith evened its New England Women's & Mens' Athletic Conference record at 1-1. 

Smith defeated Western New England, 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 23-25, 25-23) in the middle match to improve to 8-3 on the season to go with a 1-1 conference mark. Western New England fell to 4-5 on the year after a pair of non-conference matches. 

The Lyons dominated the opening set against Smith, 25-8, after racing out to a 17-2 start and hit .579 as a team. The Pioneers regrouped to take the second set, 25-20, before Wheaton won the next two frames, 25-18, 27-25. 

Shaheen slammed 13 kills on a .526 hitting percentage for the Lyons and added a dig and a block solo as well. Senior outside hitter Adara Hamilton (Mercer Island, Wash.) put down 11 kills to fuel a .226 hitting percentage and fired six aces in addition to eight digs. Sophomore Zoë Franz (Noblesville, Ind.) and junior Hannah George (Duxbury, Mass.) combined to set for 37 assists (ZF 20, HG 17), five aces (ZF 3, HG 2) and 14 digs (ZF 9, HG 5) from the setter spot, while junior libero Ariana Rajaee (Marlborough, Mass.) got down for 17 digs and fired an ace for Wheaton. 

First year right side hitter Abby Sweeney (Spring, Texas) led Smith with eight kills and three block assists, while classmate Fiona Hegarty (Tustin, Calif.) swung for seven kills on a .353 hitting mark. Sophomore Gabby Beckman (Aurora, Colo.) picked up 11 digs to lead the defensive effort. 

Hickey picked up where she left off in the opening match for the Lyons. She put down a crucial kill in the fourth set to help Wheaton take the match and then spiked for a career-best 14 kills on a formidable .370 hitting clip to go with three digs in the team's win over WNEU. The Lyons hit .262 for the match and took the opening set, 25-17, before dropping the second frame to the Golden Bears, 25-22. Wheaton rebounded to win the final two sets, 25-19, 25-18. 

Junior middle hitter Bailey Madrzyk (Barrington, Ill.) hit a blistering .600 for the match and put down nine kills for the Lyons and Franz set for 14 assists to go with five aces, three kills and five digs. 

Junior outside hitter Sarah Scott (Granby, Mass.) led WNEU against Wheaton with 11 kills, two aces and six digs, while first year right side hitter Alissa Hawes (Tupelo, Miss.) put away eight kills on a .316 hitting mark to go with three blocks and three digs. Sophomore setter Hailey Sell (Glen Allen, Va.) posted a double-double of 31 assists and 10 digs to go with an ace and a block. 

Sweeney was a force for Smith against the Golden Bears in the middle match with 10 kills and four blocks and first year outside hitter Sarah Dankovich (El Paso, Texas) contributed to the cause with nine kills on a .304 hitting percentage added four digs. Beckman chipped in with 13 digs and three aces and first year setter Nathalie Pak (Lexington, Mass.) set for 21 assists, fired a pair of aces, came up with two digs and put down two kills. 

Scott led WNEU against Smith with a match-high 13 kills to go with six digs and an ace, while Hawes put down eight kills, picked up six digs and got up for two blocks. Sell scored with five kills and an ace and added 18 assists and four digs. Sophomore libero Becca Mayer (Berlin, Conn.) contributed with 18 digs and an ace. 

All three teams return to play on Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00 p.m. Wheaton travels to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 7:00 p.m., while Smith heads to New London, Conn. To play league opponent United States Coast Guard Academy and Western New England hosts Gordon College.