DUDLEY, Mass. — Five different players scored seven or more points for the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team in a balanced attack, en-route to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-14) victory over host Nichols College this evening at the Nichols Athletic Center in Dudley, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 7-12 on the season, while the Bison fall to 3-11.
Wheaton hit .350 or better in the first two sets and finished the match with a .267 hitting mark, while Nichols' offense struggled throughout the match and registered a -.169 hitting percentage.
Junior outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) contributed with points on both sides of the net to give her a match-high 9.5, including five kills on a .400 hitting mark for the Lyons, two aces and three total blocks to go with four digs. Junior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) swung for a match-high nine kills and added five digs, while classmate Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) swung for eight kills, got up for a block assist and picked up a dig. Sophomore setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) was outstanding distributing the ball for a count of 25 assists in addition to serving up a pair of aces and scooping a dig, while sophomore libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for a match-best 15 digs.
Senior outside hitter Luna Colozzo (Winchester, Mass.) led the Bison with five kills and added three digs, while graduate student defensive specialist Liz Diorio (Wolcott, Conn.) led the defensive effort with 10 digs to go with an ace.
Wheaton got out to an 11-4 lead in the opening set, behind three kills each from Lyon and Hanson. Nichols closed to within 15-10, but the Lyons closed out the frame with a 10-4 run, fueled by a trio of kills from junior middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.), including a kill to finish the set at 25-14.
Wheaton held a 4-3 edge early in the middle frame, before erupting for a 12-2 blitz, led by a pair of kills from sophomore right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.), to take a commanding 16-5 advantage. Colozzo put down a kill to cut the deficit to 17-8 for the Bison. Wheaton scored six of the next seven points, including a kill and an ace from first year setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.), to extend the visitors' margin to 23-9. Nichols showed some life with a 6-1 run of its own to close to within 24-15, but Mazzanti put down the final kill of the frame to give the Lyons a 2-0 match lead.
Wheaton started out fast again with a 9-1 lead, including two kills from Henn and later maintained a 13-5 cushion. The Bison ripped off five straight points to cut the margin to 13-10, but it was as close as they would get the rest of the way. The Lyons put the match away with a 12-4 stretch, including two kills from Wingler and a final ace from sophomore right side hitter Abbie Dixon (Manassas, Va.) to deliver Wheaton the victory in three sets.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, October 15 when they travel to South Hadley, Mass. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Mount Holyoke College at 7:00 p.m., while Nichols travels to Chester, Pa. to play Widener University at 6:00 p.m.
