CLINTON, N.Y. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated by William Smith College, 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17), this afternoon at host Hamilton College's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House, in the second match of a tri-match for the Lyons in Clinton, N.Y.
The Lyons dip to 8-18, while the Herons, who received votes in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association nation poll, improve to 17-3.
William Smith hit .230 for the match, including .244 in the second set and .333 in the third frame. Wheaton posted a .056 hitting clip.
Junior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) put down a match-high 12 kills on a .273 hitting percentage for the Lyons and added eight digs and a match-best four aces. Junior middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) chipped in with five points, including four kills with a .300 hitting mark to go with a pair of block assists. Sophomore libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) picked up 11 digs and sophomore setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) set for 16 assists, got down for five digs and fired three aces.
Junior middle hitter Jaylynn McCarthy (Las Vegas, Nev.) spiked for nine kills, fueled by a .467 hitting clip and added two block assists, a dig and an ace for the Herons. Junior outside hitter Malya Sayre (Peotone, Ill.) finished a kill short of a double-double with nine kills and a match-high 16 digs to go with two aces and a pair of total blocks. Junior outside hitter Hope Von Dohlen (San Antonio, Texas) contributed with eight kills and a pair of total blocks and first year setter Delainy Williams (Portland, Ore.) set for 30 assists in addition to nine digs.
Wheaton opened the match with an 8-3 lead in the first set for its largest lead of the contest. William Smith regrouped and put together a 10-2 stretch, including three kills from first year outside hitter Emily Fulton (Sherwood, Ore.), to take a 13-10 margin. The Lyons ripped off the next five points, led by two kills from Lyon, to take a 15-13 lead for the third lead change of the frame. The teams traded the lead three more times before they were deadlocked at 19-19. The Herons closed out the set with six unanswered points, including the final two kills from Sayre to deliver Wiliam Smith the first frame.
Wheaton took an early 4-2 lead in the middle set, before the Herons responded with five straight points to take a 7-4 lead. Lyon put down back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to 10-9 for the Lyons, but William Smith enjoyed another five-point blitz, backed by three kills from Sayre and two from Von Dohlen, to increase the Herons' lead to 15-9. Wheaton reeled off seven straight points, including three aces from Orbán and a pair of kills from Lyon, to take a 16-15 edge. William Smith ripped off the next four points, capped by a Fulton kill, to take the lead for good at 19-16. Wheaton battled back with three of the next four points, to climb within 20-19, but the Herons scored five of the final six points to win the set, 25-20, to take a 2-0 match lead.
Hanson swung for three kills to pace a 7-5 Lyon lead to begin the third frame. The Herons countered with a 7-2 stretch, capped by an ace from McCarthy, to give William Smith a 12-9 margin. Wheaton reclaimed the lead at 14-13 with five of the next six points, including three kills and an ace from Lyon. The Herons effectively put the set and the match away with a dominant 10-1 run, led by three kills from Von Dohlen, to take a 23-15 cushion. Wheaton scored the next two points, but William Smith responded in kind with McCarthy putting down the final two kills of the set for the match win.
The Lyons return to the court on Tuesday, October 29 when they travel to Newport, R.I. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Salve Regina University at 7:00 p.m., while the Herons host Union College and Nazareth University for a tri-match on November 2 at 11:30 a.m.
