NORTON, Mass. -- Senior pin hitter
Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) had 11 kills on an even .500 hitting as the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team swept Clark University at home with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 26-24) win in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference play on Tuesday evening.
Wheaton improved to 7-14 overall and 2-6 in NEWMAC play after the win. Clark fell to 4-13 overall and 0-8 in the NEWMAC following the loss.
Mazzanti was the offensive leader with her season-high hitting percentage. Junior middle
Katie de la Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.) had eight kills on .400 hitting alongside six block assists and one set assist. Fellow junior
Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) had four kills, two service aces and three block assists in a dominant day at the center of the net for Wheaton. Senior setter
Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) set up 19 assists and senior libero
Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) led the floor with 12 digs.
Junior Isabella Alcott (Maple Grove, Minn.) was two digs shy of a double-double as she put down 10 kills and dug up 8 balls. Senior Katelyn Williams (Morristown, N.J.) had four kills and a service ace while senior Winifred Gakidis (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) had three kills as well. Junior Hannah Harrington (Milford, N.H.) had 12 assists to lead her team while senior libero Harper Chinn (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) led her team with 10 digs.
Wheaton's first point of the game came from a Mazzanti kill, an early indicator of the night it would be for the home team. Clark was able to keep even with their opponents as each side traded points with the other. De la Pena and Mazzanti put down kills to drive the deadlock to 11-11. Neither side was able to separate themselves as Mazzanti swung for another kill to make it 15-15. Alcott sent a kill to the floor before Harrington responded with an ace to put the Cougars in front, but de la Pena and Mazzanti linked together with a pair of kills each to give Wheaton a 22-20 lead. Williams notched a kill to bring the Cougars within a point, but the visitors made three straight errors as they ceded the opening set to the Lyons, 25-22.
Alcott put down the first point of the second set, but the Lyons answered back with kills from Mazzanti and Jenkins to keep the affair tied at 3-3. Clark began to struggle as the errors started to pile up, and de la Pena compounded their pain with a kill to cap off a 6-2 run. The Cougars answered with a 6-1 run of their own, and once again the set was tied at 10-10. The deadlock remained in place up to a 17-17 tie before Wheaton finally began to pull away. De la Pena put down three straight kills to precede three straight Clark errors, which allowed Wheaton to take a 23-17 lead. Alcott and Williams bounced back-to-back kills in hopes of sparking a Clark comeback, but first year
Czyleah Pabustan (Lathrop, Calif.) slammed the door shut with a kill to take the set, 25-19.
The trend of each team staying even at the start of a set continued as each side stayed even through a 5-5 draw. Pabustan and Jenkins kept the deadlock alive up to a 10-10 tie before de la Pena had another kill to launch Wheaton into a 5-2 run. Clark had a 5-2 run of their own immediately after, and once again the contest was tied at 16-16. Alcott came alive down the stretch and added two kills to a 4-2 scoring run to give the Cougars an imposing 20-16 lead. The Lyons were able to play cleanly while the Cougars continued with their error-woes, and once again the set was tied at 22-22. Jenkins and Pabustan struck sequential kills to put the Lyons on match point, but a Wheaton service error stoked the embers of Clark's hope at 24-24. Mazzanti answered with a huge kill, and the Lyons sealed the sweep with a service ace to take the third set 26-24.
Wheaton plays only one match this weekend as they head down to New London for a 2:00 pm contest at Connecticut College. Clark will travel back home for a Thursday night feature against their crosstown rivals Worcester State at 7:00 pm.
