WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team bounced back, after dropping the first two sets, to tie the match at 2-2, but fell in the final frame in a 3-2 loss to host Worcester Polytechnic Institute tonight in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference match at Harrington Auditorium in Worcester, Mass. The Lyons fall to 8-3 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Engineers improve to 9-2 and 1-2. 

Wheaton was paced by junior right side hitter Bailey Madrzyk (Barrington, IL) who finished with 14 kills and a .519 hitting percentage while also tacking on four blocks and an ace. Senior outside hitter Adara Hamilton (Mercer Island, WA) helped on all sides of the ball finishing with 12 kills and a season-high 19 digs for her first double-double of the season. Sophomore setter Zoë Franz (Noblesville, IN) added a career-high 30 assists to go with nine digs and three aces, while junior defensive specialist Sophie Wilhelm (Sauderstown, R.I.) fired a personal-best six aces and picked up 24 digs. 

Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, NH) led the way for the Engineers finishing with a career-high 22 kills on the night on 67 attempts while also adding nine digs, four service aces and a pair of blocks in the victory. Natalia Wierzbicki (Wareham, MA) finished with 10 kills and a .500 hitting percentage while also adding five blocks in the game. Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) dished out 44 helpers while also making 12 digs and adding seven kills and Jia Yazon (South Windsor, CT) finished with 17 digs on the night. 

The first set featured a back-and-forth match that saw six lead changes. Neither team was willing to relent, but after Wheaton rallied off a couple points at 19-all to take a 21-19 lead, WPI fought back with a pair of kills from Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA), a bad set by the Lyons and a kill from Renee Sawka (Westford, MA) to make it a 24-22 ball game and ultimately come away with the 25-23 win.  

The second set saw Wheaton get out to a 5-2 advantage early on before WPI battled back to make it a 6-5 game thanks to a pair of kills from Wetmore as well as a service ace from Paige Garland (Nashua, NH). The Engineers continued to add two or three points throughout the match building up to a 23-13 lead. A pair of aces from Wilhelm cut into the advantage, but WPI took home set two on a kill from Wierzbicki.  

Wheaton got one back in the third set, coming out firing and beginning things with a 6-0 run. Ultimately the Engineers chipped away and evened things up at 10-all midway through the set on a Deckers kill. The two teams went point for point, until Wheaton was ultimately able to come away with the win, erasing the sweep opportunity.  

Set number four once again went in favor of the Lyons who eked out a 26-24 victory forcing the fifth set of play. WPI gained as much as a 13-5 lead in the set before Wheaton regrouped and fought back, utilizing some late runs to ultimately erase WPI's lead and take a 24-23 lead of its own off of a Madryzk ace. WPI used a Wetmore kill to get the ball back at 24-all, but Wheaton's Annah Shaheen (Portsmouth, NH) slammed home a kill in the next point and a bad set ended the game in favor of the Lyons.  

In the fifth set, after Wheaton was able to earn a 4-2 lead, the Wetmore/Wierzbicki attacking duo erased that lead and gave WPI its own advantage. Like set number two, the Engineers methodically added to their total building a five-point lead that Wheaton was unable to erase en route to the 15-11 victory that was solidified with none other than a Wetmore kill.  

Wheaton returns to the hardwood on Thursday, September 23 when it heads to Beverly, Mass. to take on Endicott College at 7:00 p.m., while WPI returns to action on September 25 at home at noon against Massachusetts Institute of Technology.