NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team went the distance in their second match of the day against Johnson and Wales, but fell just short in the end as they lost 3-2 (15-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-23, 10-15).
Wheaton fell to 6-14 overall with the loss while Johnson and Wales improved to 12-5 with the win.
Senior
Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) led the Lyons' offense with 13 kills on .125 hitting. First year
Czyleah Pabustan (Lathrop, Calif.) had a career night with a personal-best of nine kills and three service aces while junior
Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) was the most efficient hitter for Wheaton with seven kills on .313 hitting. Senior setter
Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) had a season-high of 24 assists and added 10 digs to complete the double-double. Senior libero
Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) once again anchored the Wheaton defense with a team-leading 20 digs.
Junior Neveah Arnold (Alpharetta, Ga.) led the Wildcats with 13 kills. Sophomore Trinity Ricevuto (Sayville, N.Y.) was hot on her teammates heels with 12 kills on .300 hitting. Junior Bailey Koopman (Arvada, Colo.) was the most efficient hitter for Johnson and Wales as she finished with nine kills on .368 hitting. Sophomore setter Sophia Santacroce (Toledo, Ohio) narrowly missed out on a triple-double as she finished with 33 assists, eight service aces and nine digs. Ricevuto led the Wildcats defensively with 21 digs.
Orbán opened up the match with back-to-back service aces, and Mazzanti followed them up with a kill to put the Lyons in front early. Pabustan checked in with her first kill of the contest before Mazzanti rose up and hammered another one home to make it 5-3. Pabustan picked up another kill as the Wildcats inched closer and closer at 8-7. Arnold and Ricevuto linked together to force a 4-1 scoring run that flipped the lead and put Johnson and Wales in front at 11-9. Pabustan answered with a kill of her own, but three errors and another Ricevuto kill made it 15-12 in favor of the Wildcats. The first set ended with a massive 10-2 scoring run for the Wildcats, and the Lyons dropped their first set 25-15.
Wheaton again pushed ahead to an early lead at the start of the second set. Mazzanti had one kill and Pabustan put down two to help the Lyons keep the lead up to a 10-8 score. Another massive 10-2 run for the Wildcats snatched the lead away from the Lyons, and despite a late kill from Pabustan, they were able to claim victory in the second set 25-17.
The Lyons fell into a large deficit right off the bat in the third set. A 12-3 scoring run put the Wildcats in control of the set with a 12-5 lead. Two Johnson and Wales errors opened the door for the Lyons, and Timo walked through it with a service ace. Botelho kept the parade going with a kill that made it 12-9. Wheaton was still trailing at 18-14 when they finally found some momentum. An attacking error by Arnold gave Pabustan a chance to serve, and she quickly delivered a pair of service aces. Jenkins pounded a kill from the middle, and the Lyons tied the frame at 18-18. The Wildcats were able to hang on as they desperately sought out the end of the match, and a 5-2 scoring run put them at the brink of victory with a 23-20 lead. Mazzanti slammed a kill to stop her opponents, and Orbán followed it up with a kill of her own. Two errors by Johnson and Wales put the Lyons on set point, which Orbán killed with ease. The Lyons were still alive after taking the third set 25-23.
Pabustan, Mazzanti and Jenkins were the three-headed hydra of the Wheaton offense as they kept their side even with Johnson and Wales at the start of the fourth set. All three players recorded multiple kills as the match stayed even up to a 17-17 deadlock. Jenkins had two more kills down the stretch as the Lyons posted a 5-1 scoring run to make it 22-19. Arnold was able to slow the Lyons a bit with a kill but Wheaton hung on as Botelho hit the winning kill to clinch the set 25-23.
The winner-take-all fifth set started with two big kills by Mazzanti. Wheaton led 3-2 before Arnold sparked a 4-0 run with a kill. Botelho was able to bounce one off the court for a kill, but the effort did little to disrupt her opponent's momentum. Ricevuto washed away the Wheaton effort with a kill that started another scoring run, and the Wildcats led 12-7 in a hurry. Pabustan, Orbán and Mazzanti all scored points to bring the Lyons within two, but an error and two Santacroce service aces ended the match with a 15-10 set win for Johnson and Wales.
Wheaton will return home for a Tuesday evening NEWMAC contest with Clark. The 7:00 pm game in Emerson Gym will also be the Lyons' "Dig Pink" game. Johnson and Wales will also return home for a conference game against Suffolk on Wednesday at 7:00 pm.
