Wheaton College (MA)

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was anchored by 23 digs from senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) as the Lyons fell to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play by a score of 3-1 (25-23, 16-25, 25-27, 16-25) in the first game of Saturday's tri-match in New London.

Wheaton fell to 6-13 overall and 1-6 in the NEWMAC with the loss while the Bears improved to 10-6 overall and 2-4 in conference play. 

Hochberg was the dig leader on both sides of the court as she finished with a game-high 23 digs. First year defensive specialist MJ Cockrill (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 10 digs to match senior setter Ajsa Orbán's (Budapest, Hungary) tally. Orbán finished with 16 assists to lead the team while junior setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) finished with 14. Senior pin hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.), first year outside hitter Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) and first year outside hitter Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) each finished with eight kills. Mazzanti added three solo blocks to bring her points total to a team-leading 11. 

Senior pin hitter Abigail Schweitzer (Emmaus, Pa.) led the floor with 12 kills on .281 hitting while sophomore Corey Lemmer (San Francisco, Calif.) was hot on her heels with 11 kills on .286 hitting. Sophomore setter Ava Ahokavi (Honolulu, Hawaii) led the floor with 20 assists and secured the double-double statline with 13 digs. Senior libero Courtney Shire (Cape May, N.J.) led her team with 17 digs while senior defensive specialist Mary Grace Delfino (Alpharetta, Ga.) had 12. 

Mazzanti opened the match with a kill, but the Bears quickly found their footing and snapped off a 6-0 scoring run to leap ahead to a 7-3 lead. Another 5-1 run by the Bears had them in control at 12-5, but Inch was able to stop the bleeding with a kill for the Lyons. Hochberg capped off the brief spurt of scoring with a service ace, but the Bears continued to control the set as they took an 18-12 lead. A Timo service ace and a Botelho bounce capped off a 4-0 run for Wheaton, but the Bears held on to their lead. Inch put down another kill to bring the Lyons within a point at 21-20, Mazzanti rose up and hammered home a kill before three straight errors by the Bears put them on set point. Cockrill finished off the set with a service ace to finish off a 5-0 run and claim victory in the opening set. 

Botelho and Mazzanti both bounced kills early on in the second set. The frame stayed even up to a 5-5 tie, but a 5-0 run for the Bears put them ahead 10-5. Schweitzer kept the momentum with her side as she put down a kill that sparked an 8-2 run for the hosts. Botelho was able to break up the streak for Coast Guard with another kill, but the Bears ran away down the stretch and sealed a 25-16 set win with a 3-0 run at the very end.

Mazzanti was the first to score in the third set as she opened the frame with a kill. Junior Katie de la Pena (Little Rock, Colo.) kept the momentum with Wheaton as she put down her first kill of the set to put the Lyons ahead 4-2. Inch bounced a kill to keep the Lyons in front, and two errors by Coast Guard saw them take a 10-7 lead. Botelho put down another kill to make it 13-10, but the Bears responded with a 3-0 run to even the score. Lemmer was able to keep her team within reach of the Lyons with a kill that sparked a 3-0 run. The run saw the lead change hands once more, but Wheaton was ready with an answer. Botelho and de la Pena combined for back-to-back kills to flip the lead around once again. Lemmer stopped the momentum with a kill, and a Wheaton error put the hosts on set-point. Coast Guard missed their attack and a kill by Timo saw the Lyons reach set-point at 25-24. Wheaton was unable to complete the comeback as the Bears snapped off three straight kills to take the frame 27-25. 

With their backs against the wall, Wheaton needed a good start to the fourth set. They found that start as the Bears opened the frame with four straight errors. Three straight errors by Wheaton set them back soon after. The Bears continued to take advantage of Wheaton's mistakes and quickly pushed ahead to a 15-11 lead. Coast Guard did catch an error bug midway through the set, which allowed Wheaton to come within two points of the hosts at 17-15. The Bears were clearly displeased with their opponent being so close to them, and they closed out the set with an 8-1 run to take the frame 25-16. 

Wheaton will play in the second match of the tri-match at Coast Guard against Johnson and Wales. Coast Guard will take on Johnson and Wales in the final match of the day in New London.