BOSTON, Mass. – Senior outside hitter Celina Henn (Atwater, Calif.) spiked for a match-high 15 kills to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team to a 3-1 (20-25, 25-13, 26-24, 25-12) victory over host Simmons University this evening at the Holmes Sports Center in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 7-11 on the season, while the Sharks fall to 3-13.
Wheaton hit .168 for the match and held Simmons to negative hitting marks in two of four sets for a match percentage of .007.
Henn hit .243, while adding six digs and a block assist for the Lyons, while senior outside hitter Sydney Lyon (Weston, Conn.) posted her fourth double-double of the season with 12 kills and 12 digs to go with an ace. Junior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) picked up 24 digs and first year setter Emily Cordell (Crawfordville, Fla.) set for 18 assists to go with five digs and an ace.
Junior outside hitter Hannah Pridgeon (Winter Garden, Fla.) put away eight kills and added 10 digs and an ace to lead Simmons, while senior outside hitter Kate Petrosso (Attleboro, Mass.) swung for seven kills on a .250 hitting clip in addition to picking up five digs and getting up for a block solo. Sophomore setter Keagan Serverius (Tampa, Fla.) set for 14 assists, got down for five digs and fired an ace and junior libero Carolina Rodriguez (Carolina, Puerto Rico) scooped up 21 digs and served up a pair of aces.
Wheaton took an early 5-3 lead in the opening set, behind a pair of kills from junior right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.). The home team answered with five unanswered points to take an 8-5 margin, led by a pair of aces from Rodriguez. The Sharks later maintained a 13-10 lead, before the Lyons pulled ahead with four straight points to take a 14-13 edge. Wheaton later clung to an 18-17 lead, but Simmons reeled off the next four points as part of a set-ending 8-4 run, capped by an ace from junior middle blocker Kira Buonopane (Plymouth, Mass.).
First year outside hitter Addison Evans (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) spiked for a kill to pull the Sharks within 11-7 in the second frame, but it was as close as they would get for the remainder of the set. The Lyons put together an 11-3 stretch, led by three kills from Henn, to take a commanding 22-10 advantage. Simmons scored three of the next four points, capped by a kill from senior right side hitter Iliana Diaz (Staten Island, N.Y.), to cut the deficit to 23-13, but Wheaton took the set with the next two points and evened the match at one set apiece.
The Sharks got out to an early 11-7 lead behind three kills apiece from Pridgeon and Evans in the third set, before the Lyons answered with five straight points, including two kills from senior middle hitter Julia Wingler (Fuquay Varina, N.C.), to take a 12-11 edge. Simmons punched back with an 8-3 burst, and an ace from junior defensive specialist Emily Ibarra (Downey, Calif.), to take a 19-15 margin late in the frame. Wheaton regrouped and scored eight of the next 10 points, fueled by a trio of kills from Lyon, to pull ahead at 23-21. Pridgeon and Petrosso put down back-to-back kills to knot the set at 23-23 for the Sharks. The Lyons closed out the frame with three of the final four points, including a kill from Henn to give them the set and a 2-1 match lead.
Simmons held an 8-7 lead early in the fourth frame, but the edge was fleeting as Wheaton dominated the rest of the night with a torrid 18-4 run, bolstered by three kills from Henn, to give the visitors the set and the match.
The Lyons return to the court on Tuesday, October 14 when they host New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Salve Regina University at 7:00 p.m. in Emerson Gymnasium, while the Sharks head to North Dartmouth, Mass. to play University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on October 11 for a 2:00 p.m. match.
