NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated by visiting No. 19 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 3-0 (25-20, 25-5, 25-20), this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons fall to 10-11 overall and 2-5 in league play, while the Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, improve to 17-5 and a perfect 8-0.

MIT hit .253 for the match and was unstoppable in the second set, owning an unforgiving .586 hitting mark that included no hitting errors in the frame.

Junior outside hitter Annah Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) put away eight kills and picked up seven digs to go with an ace to lead Wheaton. First year middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) contributed with 3.5 points on three kills and a block assist and junior setter Hannah George (Duxbury, Mass.) registered eight assists, seven digs and a block assist.

Junior middle hitter Consecrata Rozario (Cary, N.C.) spiked for 13 kills on an unthinkable .929 hitting percentage to lead the Engineers. Rozario could do nothing wrong at the net with 13 kills on 14 attempts to go with a pair of digs and a block assist. Senior outside hitter Lilly Edwards (Kansas City, Mo.) put down nine kills on a .250 hitting mark in addition to a dig, while junior setter Emily Cheng (Sunnyvale, Calif.) set for 24 assists and added nine digs and a service ace. Sophomore libero Ottavia Personeni (Bethesda, Md.) picked up a match-high 12 digs and added an ace.

The Lyons were competitive in the bookend sets, but MIT put on a dominant display in the middle frame.

Wheaton scored four straight points to take a 7-6 edge and later owned an 11-10 lead in the opening set, before the Engineers ripped off seven unanswered points to take the lead for good at 17-11. The Lyons closed to within 19-17, but never got closer as MIT first year middle hitter Claire Underwood (Yorba Linda, Calif.) put down a kill to decide the match after entering the set for the first time.

The Engineers scored the first seven points of the second set as part of a 19-2 run that put the match out of reach. Sophomore right side hitter Lauren Keller (Albuquerque, N.M.) spiked for five kills in the set.

Shaheen fired an ace to pull Wheaton even early in the third set at 5-5 and stayed within 10-8, before a 10-4 stretch gave MIT a 20-12 cushion. The visitors maintained their lead at 24-16, but the Lyons reeled off four straight points to pull to within 24-20. Rozario put down the final kill of the evening to give the Engineers the set and match win.

Wheaton returns to the court when it heads to Waterville, Maine on Friday, October 21 to play Colby College at 5:00 p.m., while MIT returns to action on the same night when it hosts Williams College at 7:00 p.m.