NORTON, Mass. — Junior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) averaged nearly five kills per set with a match-high 14 to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team over visiting Lasell University, 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 27-25), this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 4-6 on the season, while the Lasers fall to 6-3.
Wheaton hit at least .222 in every set and finished the match with a .281 hitting mark, while Lasell managed a .096 hitting percentage.
The Lyons fired 12 aces, while the Lasers served up just four for the night.
Lyon owned a formidable .370 hitting clip and added three aces, four digs and a block assist, while junior middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.) committed just one attack error and put down eight kills as part of a .538 hitting effort. Wingler also fired a pair of aces, picked up two digs and got up for three total blocks. Sophomore setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) led all setters with 16 assists to go with a match-high seven digs and a pair of aces.
Junior middle hitter Morgan Bogli (Vernon, Conn.) paced Lasell with six kills on a .308 hitting mark to go with two block assists and senior outside hitter McKenna McCool (Loomis, Calif.) swung for four kills and fired an ace in addition to picking up four digs.
Wheaton established a superior court presence from the start, winning seven of the first eight points of the opening set, including a pair of aces and a kill from Lyon. The Lyons later maintained a 13-7 margin following a kill from junior middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.), before going on a 7-2 burst to increase their advantage to 20-9. The Lasers pulled within 21-11 after a kill from McCool, but Wheaton scored four of the final five points, including a pair of kills and an ace from Lyon, to take the opening frame.
Wheaton took an early 5-2 lead in the second set and later owned a 15-12 margin following a kill from junior outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.). Lasell worked its way back and knotted the set for the eighth time at 18-18 after a kill from senior outside hitter Emily VanHouten (Rockaway, N.J.). The Lyons shook off the threat from their guests and closed out the set with seven of the final eight points, including a trio of kills from Lyon, to take a 2-0 match lead.
The teams were knotted at 6-6 in the third set, before Wheaton put together a 7-1 run, paced by a pair of aces from first year setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.), to take a 13-7 lead. Lyon later put down a kill to maintain a 17-12 cushion for the home team. The Lasers scored the next five points, capped by a kill from senior outside hitter Eliana Baran (Beaumont, Calif.), to pull them even at 17-17. VanHouten found the floor for a kill to give Lasell its first lead of the set at 22-21. Lasell looked primed to extend the match to a fourth set following an ace from junior outside hitter Andrea Aceituno (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) to give the visitors set point at 24-22. Wheaton regrouped and tallied five of the final six points of the night to come away with a 27-25 set win to sweep the match, 3-0.
The Lyons return to the court on Sunday, September 22 when they take on host Gordon College and Keene State College in Wenham, Mass. for a 12:00 p.m. tri-match, while the Lasers travel to Nashua, N.H. on September 21 to play Rivier University to open the Great Northeast Athletic Conference slate at 11:00 a.m.
