WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was swept at host Wellesley College, 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-16), this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse in Wellesley, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 7-3 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Blue improve to 8-2 and 2-0.
Sophomore outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) led Wheaton with nine kills on a .214 hitting percentage and added an ace, a block assist and nine digs, while sophomore middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) contributed with five kills with an identical .214 hitting mark to go with three blocks, including two assists. Senior setter Julianna Flack (Saint Petersburg, Fla.) set for 22 assists and added three aces and seven digs. First year libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for 14 digs for the defense.
Wellesley first year outside hitter Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) led all players with 15 points, including 12 kills and three aces in addition to a .310 hitting clip and seven digs. Senior outside hitter Kate Salembier (Sierre Madre, Calif.) and first year outside hitter Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) each swung for nine kills, while first year setter Madeline Zornek (Orlando, Fla.) set for 31 assists, put down four kills and got down for nine digs. Sophomore libero Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) picked up 23 digs and fired a pair of aces.
The Blue scored the first four points to open the match and got out to a 9-3 lead, including three kills from Salembier. Giang put down a kill to extend the home team's advantage to 19-11. Wellesley maintained a 22-16 margin, before the Lyons scored four straight points to close to within 22-20. The Blue scored three of the next four points to take the opening set and a 1-0 match lead.
Wellesley held a 7-6 edge early in the second frame, before Wheaton scored five unanswered points to take an 11-7 margin. The Lyons later held a 15-11 lead, but six straight points from the Blue, including three kills from Giang and two from Salembier, gave them a 17-15 lead. Wheaton closed to within 22-21 and later tied the set at 24-24, but Wellesley scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Blue clung to an 8-7 lead early in the third set, before scoring six of the next seven points to take a 14-8 lead and never looked back. The Lyons cut the deficit to 17-13, but Wellesley put together a 7-1 run, paced by a pair of kills and an ace from Giang, to take a 24-14 cushion. Hanson and first year right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) each put down a kill for Wheaton to make it 24-16, but the Blue scored the final point to take the set and the match.
The Lyons return to the court on Tuesday, September 26 when they host NEWMAC foe United States Coast Guard Academy at 7:00 p.m. at Emerson Gymnasium, while Wellesley heads to nearly Babson Park to take on Babson College in a league match on the same night at the same time.
