BOSTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team was defeated in three sets by host Emerson College, 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-12), this evening at Bobbi Brown & Plofker Gym in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 7-16 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the Lions win their fourth in a row to improve to 17-4 and 7-2.
Emerson got stronger as the match went on, hitting .106, .200 and .360 in each of the sets in succession for a match figure of .196. Wheaton was held to .000 for the night.
First year outside hitter Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) led the Lyons with nine kills and added eight kills and an ace, while classmate Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) put down five kills on a .286 hitting mark to go with a block assist. Junior middle hitter Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) fired a match-high three aces in addition to a pair of kills, two block assists and three digs. Junior setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) set for 10 assists and picked up a dig and senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for 10 digs.
Senior outside hitter Rachel Dickerson (Frisco, Texas) swung for a match-best 11 kills on a .267 hitting mark to go with 10 digs to record her sixth double-double of the season for the Lions. Junior setter Chloe Hokenson (McLean, Va.) put down nine kills on a .238 hitting clip to go with four digs, four block assists and an ace, while junior setter Sophia Schiappa (Burr Rindge, Ill.) directed the offense with 13 assists and added five digs and an ace. Senior defensive specialist Lauren Yoo (Los Angeles, Calif.) led all defenders with 14 digs and served for three aces.
First year libero MJ Cockrill (Scottsdale, Ariz.) fired an ace to give Wheaton a 12-10 lead midway through the opening set. Emerson ripped off the next eight points, including three kills from Hokenson, and didn't look back with an 18-12 advantage. The Lyons roared back with a 6-1 run, capped by a kill from junior middle hitter Katie de la Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.), to pull the visitors to within 19-18. The Lions closed out the frame with a 6-2 stretch, including an ace from sophomore outside hitter Dalena Garrett (Las Vegas, Nev.) to give the home team a 25-20 first set win.
Botelho tied the score at 4-4 early in the second set for Wheaton, but a 7-1 stretch led by a pair of Yoo aces and two kills from Dickerson gave Emerson an 11-5 advantage. The Lyons scored six of the next eight points, capped by a kill from Jenkins to cut the deficit to 13-11. The Lions reeled off seven unanswered points to take their largest lead of the frame at 20-11. Wheaton got no closer than within seven for the rest of the set and Emerson took the middle frame, 25-17, to take a 2-0 match lead.
The Lyons boasted an early 3-1 margin in the third set, before the Lions put together a suffocating 14-3 run, fueled by four kills from Dickerson, to give them a 15-6 advantage. Inch pulled Wheaton within 17-9 with a kill, but Emerson closed out the set and the match with an 8-3 burst to take the set at 25-12.
Wheaton returns to the court on Thursday, October 29 when it hosts Rhode Island College at Emerson Gymnasium for a 7:00 p.m. start, while the Lions host Colby-Sawyer College on October 31 at 10:00 a.m.
