NORTON, Mass. --- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team fought through an up-and-down match against visiting United States Coast Guard Academy, ultimately falling to the Bears by a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-23) in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference match on Saturday morning inside Emerson Gymnasium.

The Lyons moved to 8-13 after the loss, falling to 1-6 within the conference. The Bears improved their record to 12-7 with the win, making their NEWMAC record 3-4.

Coast Guard finished the game with a .310 hitting percentage, doubling Wheaton's percentage  of .150.

Senior pin hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) led all Wheaton hitters with 11 kills on a .300 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.) was just behind her classmate with 10 kills on .350 hitting, adding an ace onto her statsheet. Senior pin hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) and junior pin hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) both had five kills, with the former adding five digs. Junior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) popped up 13 digs to lead her team, but the Lyons would ultimately drop the match to the Bears. Sophomore setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) set for 12 assists to go with a block assist.

Junior Sam Ventimiglia (Key West, Fla.) led the offense throughout the game for the Bears. The middle blocker dominated the net with eight kills, a solo block, two block assists and a service ace. Junior Abigail Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) swung for seven kills and picked up three block assists. Three separate Bears recorded five kills each, with sophomore pin hitter Amelia Matson (Mililani, Hawaii), first year pin hitter Corey Lemmer (San Francisco, Calif.) and senior pin hitter Sarah Somer (Cary, N.C.) each eclipsing the margin. Senior libero Laila Baameur (Bakersfield, Calif.) dug up 15 balls for the Bears to help them down the hosting Lyons. 

The match began with Coast Guard quickly jumping out to a 4-2 lead behind a Schweitzer kill. A pair of kills from Lyon and a third added by Wingler saw the lead flip in the hosts favor, but it would be a short-lived moment ahead. A three-point run by the Bears saw them run the score back in their favor as they regained the lead at 8-6. Timo got one-point back with a kill, but the Bears earned the next point, allowing them to maintain their momentum. The visiting Coast Guard Academy Bears rattled off six-points in a row, assisted by three attacking errors by the Lyons. With the hosts now looking up at a 14-7 deficit, the Bears piled on even more pressure. Another five-point run was only broken up by a Henn kill, but the Bears had run away to a 19-9 lead. Wheaton responded after the big skid, answering with a seven-point run of their own. Lyon picked up two kills during the run, while Wingler and sophomore right side Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) each picked up a kill of their own to make it a 22-20 game late in the first set. The Bears weathered the storm, surviving the rough waters during the Lyons run, and buried the first set 25-22 off of an emphatic kill by junior middle blocker Eloise Shirley (Lake Braddock, VA).

Much like the first set, the Bears took advantage of an early scoring run to take an early lead. This set saw them lead by even more, as they made the most of five Wheaton errors and kills from Shirley and Schweitzer to lead 9-3 right out of the gates. The Lyons rattled off three straight kills to bring it closer, but three straight errors later on in the frame would wash them away. Three separate three score runs helped the Bears gain an even larger lead. Ventimiglia, Somer and Lemmer all had kills to contribute to the Coast Guard's 23-16 lead. Another Wheaton error and a service ace from Ventimiglia scored the 24th and 25th points of the set, giving the Bears a 25-16 win in set two. 

Carrying their 2-0 lead into the third set, the Bears were more than confident. After Somer scored a kill and Baameur missed her serve to tie it at 4-4, the Bears offense exploded. They rattled off an overwhelming 11 points in a row, with contributions from Ventimiglia and Somer combining with five Wheaton errors to put the Coast Guard Academy ahead 15-4. The Lyons were able to scrounge together a four-point run and a three-point run to cut into the Bears' lead, but the visitors would stay in front until the end. A pair of attacking errors by Wheaton concluded the match with the Bears taking the third set 25-23. 

Wheaton returns to play the final match of the tri-match against Framingham State College at 3:00 p.m., while Coast Guard plays the middle match against the Rams at 1:00 p.m. Both matches will be inside Emerson Gymnasium.