WENHAM, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated at host Gordon College, 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-15), this evening at Kansas Court in Wenham, Mass.

The Lyons dip to 8-8, while the Fighting Scots up their mark to 9-9.

First year middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) led Wheaton with eight kills and put down eight of 10 attempts for a gaudy .800 hitting percentage to go with an ace, a dig and a block assist. Junior outside hitter Annah Shaheen (Portsmouth, N.H.) spiked for seven kills and added three digs, while first year outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) tallied six points on five kills and a pair of block assists in addition to seven digs. Junior setter Julianna Flack (St. Petersburg, Fla.) set for a career-high 33 assists in addition to six digs, a pair of aces and two total blocks. Senior libero Sophie Wilhelm (Saunderstown, R.I.) got down for 14 digs and fired an ace.

Senior middle hitter Valerie Nilan (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) put down a match-high 17 kills to lead Gordon and committed just two attack errors to translate to a .500 hitting mark to go with two block assists. Sophomore right side hitter Annie Murphy (Wenham, Mass.) swung for 13 kills on a .407 hitting mark and added an all-around effort with three aces, six digs and four block assists. Sophomore outside hitter Joey Keltner (Anacortes, Wash.) fell a kill shy of a double-double with nine swats and added 12 digs and two aces. Junior setter Kate Howe (Belfast, N.Y.) registered a match-high 38 assists to go with three kills, two aces and three digs, while junior defensive specialist Nikki Batson (Windham, N.H.) picked up 14 digs.

Gordon's only lead of the opening set came with a 2-1 edge. Wheaton put together an 11-4 run, including a pair of kills from Shaheen, to take a 12-6 lead. The Fighting Scots closed to within two, before the Lyons expanded to five again, only to have the home team cut the deficit to two again at 18-16. Wheaton put the set away with a 7-1 blitz that was capped by a Shaheen kill to end the frame and give the visitors a 25-17 win and 1-0 match lead.

Gordon tied the match with a 25-20 second set win. The Lyons took an early 10-5 lead behind a pair of kills each from first year outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) and junior middle hitter Megan Kelleher (Wethersfield, Conn.). The Fighting Scots came right back with an 8-2 stretch that gave them a 13-12 edge. The teams were later tied at 16-16 and 20-20, before Gordon scored five of the final six points of the frame, including the final kill from Keltner, to win the set and even the match.

Wheaton scored the first point of the third set, but it was all Fighting Scots from that point on. Gordon scored the next six points, including a pair of kills from Nilan, to take a 6-1 advantage. The Lyons later closed to within 9-4, but could never put any kind of run together after that. The Fighting Scots closed out the frame with a 16-7 stretch to win the set, fueled by three more kills from Nilan, for a 25-11 set win and a 2-1 match edge.

Senior outside hitter Emily Hickey (Kennebunk, Maine) put down a kill to give Wheaton an early 4-3 lead in the fourth set, but it was the visitors' last lead of the night. Gordon reclaimed the lead and owned a 10-8 margin, before going on a 12-5 burst to take a 22-13 lead, led by three kills from Nilan. The Fighting Scots maintained their advantage before winning the set, 25-15.

The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, October 11 when they travel to Babson Park, Mass. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference rival No. 18 Babson College, while Gordon hosts Worcester Polytechnic Institute on October 8 at 10:00 a.m.