NORTON, Mass. – Senior outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) and junior right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) each put down nine kills to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-23) victory this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in league play, while the Seahawks slip to 8-9 and 1-5.
Wheaton hit .247 for the match, including .304 in the opening set and owned a 9-4 advantage in service aces, while Salve Regina was held to under .100 hitting marks in both the second and third frames for a .163 mark for the night.
Henn added seven digs and a block assist for the Lyons and Mazzanti hit a scorching .471 for the match with just one attack error. Senior middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.) registered a match-high 11 points, including five kills, four aces and three total blocks, while sophomore setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) set for 16 assists and came up with a pair of digs. Junior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) picked up 13 digs and fired a trio of aces.
Sophomore outside hitter Anouk Jansen (Queen Creek, Ariz.) led all players with 11 kills on a .280 hitting clip to go with three digs for the Seahawks and sophomore right side hitter Jenna DeFrancesco (Brandford, Conn.) put away seven kills behind a .267 hitting percentage in addition to a block assist. First year setter Sydney Hanlon (Sandwich, Mass.) set for 14 assists, scooped up seven digs and served for an ace. Junior libero Madelyn Homer (North Easton, Mass.) got down for a match-high 14 digs.
Aside from a 1-0 deficit, Wheaton never trailed in either of the first two sets of the match. The Lyons took a 7-3 lead, following a kill from senior middle hitter Hollis Hanson (Parker, Colo.) to open the match. Salve Regina closed within 8-7, before Wheaton put together a 10-4 stretch, fueled by a Wingler ace and kill to take an 18-11 advantage. The Seahawks cut the deficit to 21-17 behind a pair of kills from DeFrancesco, but it was as close as they would get for the remainder of the set. The Lyons closed out the frame with four of the next six points to take a 1-0 match lead.
Wheaton raced out to an 11-5 lead, backed by a pair of kills each from Henn and Mazzanti, before Salve Regina chipped away with an 8-5 burst to come within 16-13. The Lyons closed out the set with a 9-4 stretch, led by a pair of kills from senior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) to give the home team the set at 25-17 and a 2-0 match lead.
The Seahawks clung to an early 8-7 edge, including a pair of aces from junior libero Lily Dobbins (Richmond, Ky.), but Wheaton scored five of the next seven points to take a 12-10 margin. Salve Regina made its biggest push of the night with a 7-2 run, paced by a pair of kills from both DeFrancesco and Jansen, to take a 17-14 margin late in the third frame. The Lyons roared back, ripping off nine of the next 10 points, capped by a Timo kill to take a 23-18 lead. The Seahawks countered with five of the next six points to pull within a point at 24-23, but Henn put down the final kill of the night to hold off the charge and give Wheaton the set and the match.
The Lyons return to the court on Thursday, October 16 when they head to Providence, R.I. to take on Rhode Island College for a 7:00 p.m. match, while Salve Regina hosts Smith College and Worcester State University on October 18 for an 11:00 a.m. tri-match.
