BEVERLY, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team fell short in a 3-2 (25-16 25-16, 30-32, 23-25, 15-11) loss to host Endicott College this evening at MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 13-13 on the season, while the Gulls improve to 12-13.
Wheaton fought back from a 2-0 deficit to win the next two sets, 32-30 and 25-23, and held a 10-5 lead in the final set, before Endicott scored 10 of the final 11 points to win the set and the match.
The Gulls committed just two attack errors in the final set and hit .533 in the frame as part of a .262 clip for the match.
Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) led all players with 21 kills for the Lyons on a .218 hitting mark to go with 14 digs, an ace and a block assist. First year right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) put down a career-high 13 kills and added four block assists, while senior setter Julianna Flack (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) set for 44 assists and added six digs and four aces. First year libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for a match-high 22 digs to go with an ace.
Graduate student right side hitter Krystina Schueler (Trumbull, Conn.) led Endicott with 18 kills fueled by a .308 hitting percentage in addition to four block assists. First year outside hitter Hadley Helenbrook (Atlanta, Ga.) put away 13 kills, picked up 11 digs, got up for two block assists and fired an ace. Sophomore outside hitter Julia Giroux (Bedford, N.H.) spiked for 12 kills and hit .265, while getting down for 16 digs and serving for an ace. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Sanborn (Londonderry, N.H.) also contributed with nine kills, three digs and a pair of blocks. Junior setter Savannah Cambell (Soquel, Calif.) registered a double-double of 25 assists and 12 digs to go with a trio of aces. Junior defensive specialist Emma Ruel (Duxbury, Mass.) anchored the defense with 20 digs and served up an ace.
The Gulls took the first two sets by scores of 25-16 each.
Endicott held an 8-7 edge, before scoring five of the next six points to increase its lead to 13-8 after an ace from Cambell. The Gulls later maintained a 15-12 margin, before going on a 9-3 stretch, including two kills from Giroux, to sit on set point at 24-15. The teams traded points, before the home team took the set.
Wheaton took an early 3-1 lead in the second frame, but Endicott put together an 11-2 run, including three kills from Helenbrook, to take a 12-5 advantage. The Gulls later held a 21-15 cushion, before scoring four of the final five points to take the set and a 2-0 match lead.
Mazzanti pulled the Lyons even at 8-8 with a kill, before a 5-1 burst, led by a pair of Giroux kills, gave Endicott a 13-9 lead. The Gulls maintained a 15-12 margin, before Wheaton came alive with a 9-2 stretch, including three kills from Mazzanti, to take a 21-17 lead. Wheaton took a 24-19 margin to trigger set point, but Endicott ripped off five unanswered points to pull even at 24-24. The Lyons never trailed for the remainder of the set, but had to work for the win, achieving set point a total of 12 times before Lyon put away the final two kills to give Wheaton a 32-30 set win.
Sophomore middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.) swung for a pair of kills to help the Lyons get out to a 5-1 lead to start the fourth frame. The Gulls scored the next four points to knot the set at 5-5 for the first of 13 ties in the set. In between the teams being tied at 5-5 and later at 23-23, Wheaton owned the largest lead of the frame at 16-13. The Lyons received a kill from Wingler and Lyon for the final two points of the set for a 25-23 win to force a fifth frame.
Wheaton faced an early 3-1 deficit in the fifth set, before putting together a 9-2 burst capped by a Mazzanti kill to give the visitors a 10-5 advantage. The Lyons looked primed to complete an epic comeback, but Endicott put together a comeback of its own, going on a torrid 10-1 run, including four kills from Giroux, to win the set at 15-11 to secure the match.
Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, November 4 when it travels to Worcester, Mass. to take on Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference tilt at 1:00 p.m. in the regular-season finale, while the Gulls head to Springfield, Mass. to take on Western New England University on the same day at 11:00 a.m.
