HAVERFORD, Pa. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated by Lebanon Valley College, 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18) this morning at the 2024 Haverford Invitational hosted by Haverford College at Gooding Arena in Haverford, Pa.

The Lyons drop to 0-3 on the season, while the Flying Dutchmen improve to 2-1.

Lebanon Valley hit .260 for the match, including .385 in the opening frame and a final set that saw the Dutchmen commit just two attack errors during a .400 hitting clip.

Junior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) put down 20 kills for her second match of 20 or more kills in the tournament to lead Wheaton. She hit .304 and added a team-high 15 digs and four aces. Sophomore right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) swung for nine kills and got up for three block assists. Sophomore setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) set for 20 assists, fired a pair of aces and scooped up six digs, while sophomore libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) picked up 13 digs and served up three aces.

Graduate student outside hitter Taylor McInerney (Annville, Pa.) put down 15 kills on a .367 hitting mark to go with seven digs and a block solo to lead LVC, while junior outside hitter Mattea Penner (Newville, Pa.) hit .316 to fuel a 14-kill effort in addition to picking up four digs and firing an ace. Senior setter Robyn Stepler (Chambersburg, Pa.) led all players with 33 assists and added 10 digs for a double-double, while senior libero Abigail Souder (Collegeville, Pa.) got down for a match-high 17 digs and served for four aces.

The Lyons jumped out to a 4-2 lead, including an ace and a kill from Lyon, and held a 5-4 edge. The Flying Dutchmen scored the next four points and never trailed again in the set. Wheaton knotted the score three times, before Lebanon Valley took its largest lead of the frame at 19-14. The Lyons scored four of the next five points to cut the deficit to 20-18, but it was as close as they would get before LVC took the frame, 25-21.

Like the first set, Wheaton held an early 7-6 edge after a kill from Lyon, but five unanswered points from the Flying Dutchmen put them up for good at 11-7. McInerney ignited the burst with a pair of kills. Lyon later put away a kill for the Lyons to make it 16-11, but Lebanon Valley ripped off five straight points, including a trio of aces from Souder, to take its biggest advantage of the set at 21-11. Wheaton battled back from a 22-14 deficit with five consecutive points capped by a Mazzanti kill to pull the Lyons within 22-19, but the Flying Dutchmen took three of the final four points to win the set and establish a 2-0 match lead.

Penner put down a kill to give Lebanon Valley a 17-12 margin late in the third set, but Wheaton staged a comeback with an 8-1 run, including a kill and an ace from Lyon to help the Lyons take a 20-18 lead. Penner pulled the Flying Dutchmen even with a kill to make it 22-22, but Wheaton scored the final three points, including an ace from Hochberg and a kill from Lyon to give the Lyons the set win at 25-22.

Wheaton erased a 6-2 deficit in the fourth frame with six straight points, including three kills from Lyon, to give the Lyons an 8-6 lead. Wheaton later clung to a 10-9 edge, but Lebanon Valley tallied five of the next six points to jump in front at 14-11. LVC later maintained a 20-17 lead, before putting the set and match away with a 5-1 stretch, including a pair of kills from junior middle hitter Margaret Cole (New Market, Md.).