NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) took the opening set, but visiting Springfield College closed out the match with the final three frames for a 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20) victory this evening in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference season opener at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. 

The Lyons fall to 4-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, while the Pride improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0.

Springfield hit .250 for the match, including a blistering .542 in the second set to ignite its momentum for the rest of the match. Wheaton owned a .151 hitting mark and both teams fired 12 aces apiece.

Sophomore outside hitter Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) tallied a match-high 16.5 points, including 11 kills, three aces and four total blocks to lead the Pride. 

First year outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) led all hitters with 13 kills for the Lyons and hit .476 on the night to go with a dig. Classmate Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) swung for 10 kills, picked up nine digs, served up an ace and got up for an assisted block. Senior setter Hannah George (Duxbury, Mass.) registered a match-high 28 assists and added six digs, two block assists and three kills, while senior libero Sophie Wilhelm (Saunderstown, R.I.) got down for 12 digs and served up an ace. Junior defensive specialist Isabel Coca (San Marcos, Calif.) led all players with a career-high five aces and added a dig.

Donahue hit .409 for the match and also added five digs for the visitors, while sophomore right side hitter Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.) put down eight kills on a .389 hitting clip to go with an ace, a dig and a block assist. First year setter Megan Kirtyan (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) set for 23 assists and also found the floor for five kills in addition to five digs and three aces. Graduate student libero Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) led all players with 14 digs and fired a pair of aces.

Neither team led by more than four points in the opening set and were tied at 14-14 before Wheaton scored five of the next six points, including a pair of aces from senior defensive specialist Ariana Rajaee (Marlborough, Mass.), to take a 19-15 lead. Springfield came right back with four unanswered points to knot the set at 19-19. The Lyons countered with a 5-1 spurt, capped by a George kill to give the home team a 24-20 and hung on for a 25-22 first set win.

The Pride raced out to a 10-2 advantage in the second frame, fueled by a pair of kills from first year middle blocker Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and two aces from Kirtyan. Wheaton later cut the deficit to 15-9 and then 20-14, but could get no closer than six points for the remainder of the set. Donahue spiked for a kill to give the visitors the set at 25-16.

The teams played within four points of one another for the entire third set. Springfield led for most of the frame and owned a 17-13 advantage before the Lyons ripped off four straight points to pull even at 17-17. Wheaton claimed its first lead of the set at 21-20 and the teams were tied at 22-22, before the Pride scored the final three points to take a 2-1 match lead after a 25-22 set win.

Coca fired an ace to give the Lyons an early 9-6 lead in the fourth frame, which was backed by a pair of kills and an ace from first year middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.). Springfield tallied the next four points to take a 10-9 edge after a Voltz kill, but Wheaton stormed ahead with a 7-2 run that was capped by a Henn kill to give it a 16-12 margin. The Lyons were in good position to pull out the set, but were victims of a slew of their own attack errors as the Pride took advantage during an 11-1 stretch that saw it take a 23-17 lead. Springfield finished the set at 25-20 to take the match.

Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, September 17 when it travels to Northampton, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Smith College at 1:00 p.m. as part of a tri-match with State University of New York New Paltz. The Pride host league opponent Wellesley College on the same day at the same time.