NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated by visiting Emerson College, 3-1 (25-15, 25-23, 21-25, 25-16) this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lions improve to 15-8 overall and 5-5 in NEWMAC play to clinch a playoff spot, while the Lyons fall to 13-12 and 4-6.
Emerson hit .269 or better in three of the four sets to finish the night with a .237 hitting mark and fired 13 aces in the match.
Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) led Wheaton with 17 points on 14 kills, two aces and a pair of block assists to go with 11 digs for her 11th double-double of the season. Classmate Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) spiked for 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go with six digs, a pair of aces and two block assists. First year right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) put away eight kills and hit .250 and senior setter Julianna Flack (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) set for 31 assists in addition to six digs, two aces and a block assist. First year libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for 11 digs and fired a pair of aces for the Lyons.
Junior outside hitter Amelia Combs (Eugene, Ore.) swung for a match-high 17 kills and committed just five attack errors, while sporting a .279 hitting mark to go with 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the year in addition to a pair of block assists and an ace for the Lions. Junior right side hitter Parker Cummings (Rochester, N.Y.) put down eight kills and added three digs, a pair of block assists and an ace, while first year setter Mia Rodriguez (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) set for 23 assists, fired four aces and picked up three digs. Senior libero Caroline Davis (Orlando, Fla.) got down for 13 digs and served up three aces.
The teams played within three points of one another throughout the middle of the opening set with Emerson holding a 15-14 edge. The Lions closed out the frame with a 10-1 run, including two kills from first year middle hitter Maya Hall (New York, N.Y.), to win the opening set, 25-15.
Wheaton looked to get the set back in the second frame after facing an early 6-3 deficit. The Lyons roared back with a 13-5 stretch, fueled by six kills and an ace from Henn, to take a 16-11 advantage. Wheaton maintained a 17-12 margin, before four straight points from Emerson pulled the visitors to within a point at 17-16. The Lyons later extended their lead to 22-19, but the Lions scored the next three points to pull even at 22-22. Mazzanti spiked for a kill to give Wheaton a 23-22 lead, but the next three points belonged to Emerson to take a 25-23 outcome and a 2-0 match lead.
Emerson looked primed to sweep the match after scoring eight unanswered points, behind a pair of aces from Rodriguez, to begin the frame. The Lyons began to chip away at the deficit, but the Lions still owned a 13-7 cushion. Wheaton put together a 12-4 stretch, backed by three kills from sophomore middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.), to overcome the margin and take the lead for good at 19-17. Combs later fired a kill to pull the visitors to within 20-19, but the Lyons scored five of the final seven points, including an ace from Hochberg to give Wheaton the set and cut the match deficit to 2-1.
The fourth set was defined by early runs, before Emerson settled into a rhythm to take the frame and the match. The Lyons jumped out to a 4-1 lead, including two kills from Lyon, before the Lions countered with five straight points to take a 6-4 margin. Wheaton punched back with four unanswered points, capped by a Lyon ace, to take an 8-6 lead. Wheaton later owned a 12-10 advantage, but Emerson closed out the set with a 15-4 run that ended the match.
The Lions close out the regular season on November 4 when they travel to Newport, R.I. to take on NEWMAC foe Salve Regina University at 1:00 p.m., while the Lyons are in action again on November 2 when they head to Beverly, Mass. for a 7:00 p.m. match with Endicott College.
