HAVERFORD, Pa. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team fell in three sets (25-10, 25-11, 25-22) to host Haverford College this evening in the 2024 Haverford College Invitational at Gooding Arena in Haverford, Pa.

The Lyons fall to 0-2 on the season, while the Fords improve to a perfect 2-0.

Haverford enjoyed a robust hitting clip throughout the match, posting marks of .389, 273 and .235, while Wheaton struggled in the first two frames, before registering a .343 hitting percentage in the final set.

Junior outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) and first year right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) topped the Lyons with six kills apiece, including a sparkling .417 hitting rate from Mazzanti. Henn picked up a team-high seven digs. Junior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) was extremely efficient with five kills in nine swings for a robust .556 hitting mark and first year setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) set for 14 assists to go with a dig.

Senior middle blocker Taylor Jones (Yorba Linda, Calif.) led the Fords with a blistering .818 hitting percentage after recording nine kills in just 11 attempts and added three block assists and a pair of aces. Junior outside hitter Eliana Brown (San Francisco, Calif.) matched Jones with nine kills and hit .261 in addition to picking up seven digs and getting up for three block assists. Sophomore Kira Chaney (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) fired a match-high four aces and got down for 10 digs.

The Fords scored nine of the first 10 points to open the initial set, including a trio of aces from junior setter Cameryn DeBlecourt (Lockport, Ill.). Haverford cruised to the first set win to take a 1-0 lead in the match. 

Set number two was more of the same from the outset for the Fords, going on an 8-1 run to begin the middle frame. Sophomore right side hitter Gia Frank (Van Nuys, Calif.) and Brown led the charge with a pair of kills each. Haverford closed out the set on a 7-2 run to take a 25-11 result and a 2-0 match lead.

Wheaton trailed for most of the third set, but faced a deficit of just three points at the most. The Fords boasted an 18-16 lead following an ace from Jones, but the Lyons ripped off the next three points, including a pair of kills from first year Katie de la Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.), to take their first lead of the match at 19-18. Wheaton maintained a 20-19 edge and was knotted at 22-22 with its host, before Haverford scored the final three points, including two kills from Jones, to take the match. 

The Lyons return to the court tomorrow when they take on Lebanon Valley College at 11:00 a.m. at Gooding Arena, while the Fords look to remain perfect in a match with Stockton University at the same time.