NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team committed just eight attack errors, punctuated by 14 kills on a staggering .813 hitting percentage from senior right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-23) victory over visiting Rhode Island College this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 8-16 on the season, while the Anchorwomen fall to 11-12.
Wheaton hit .524 in the opening frame, .429 in the second set and closed out the match with a .345 hitting clip in the third set. Rhode Island College managed a .056 hitting percentage.
Mazzanti was guilty of just one attack error and added a block assist to her night for the Lyons. First year outside hitter Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) put down eight kills on a .727 hitting mark to go with an ace and a pair of digs, while first year outside hitter Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) contributed with seven kills on a .278 clip in addition to two digs. Senior setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) tied her career high with five aces and added a match-best 22 assists and two digs and senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) picked up 11 digs and fired an ace.
Senior outside hitter Sarina Marines (Cranston, R.I.) led the Anchorwomen with six kills, two aces and a dig and senior middle hitter Andrayah Williams (North Providence, R.I.) put down four kills. Senior setter Yuleisy Alvelo (San Juan, Puerto Rico) registered 11 assists, five digs and an ace and senior libero Carolyn Bailey (Ipswich, Mass.) got down for six digs to give her exactly 1000 for her career.
Williams put down a kill to give RIC an early 2-1 edge in the opening set, before Wheaton put together a 13-4 run, fueled by a trio of kills from Botelho, to take a 14-6 advantage. Botelho spiked for another kill to maintain the Lyons' eight-point lead at 16-8, before Wheaton closed out the first frame with a 9-3 stretch, including two kills from Inch and an ace from Orbán for set point.
The Lyons carried their momentum into the second set with a 10-3 start, paced by two kills from Mazzanti and a pair of aces from Orbán. Marines put away a kill for the Anchorwomen to briefly interrupt Wheaton's attack, but the Lyons continued to roar with another 10-3 run, highlighted by a pair of aces from Orbán, to increase their margin to 20-7. Rhode Island College scored four of the next five points to pull within 21-11, but Wheaton matched the effort with a 4-1 burst capped by a Mazzanti kill to give the home team a 25-12 set win and a 2-0 match lead.
The Lyons ripped off the first six points of the third set behind two aces from senior defensive specialist Arianna Tanksley (Chesapeake, Va.) and two kills from Mazzanti. Marines put down a kill to cap a 5-3 boost for the Anchorwomen to cut the deficit to 9-5. Wheaton put together a 7-3 run, led by three kills from Mazzanti, to give the Lyons a 16-8 advantage. Wheaton later maintained a seemingly comfortable 19-11 lead, but Rhode Island College went on a torrid 11-2 run, fueled by three kills from junior right side hitter Olivia Rollinson (Coventry, R.I.) to come all the way back and take a 22-21 edge. The Lyons regrouped to score four of the final five points, including a kill from Botelho to give Wheaton a 25-23 set win and a 3-0 match victory.
The Lyons return to the floor on Saturday, October 31 when they travel to Standish, Maine to take on Regis College at 1:00 p.m. as part of a tri-match with host Saint Joseph's College (Maine). The Anchorwomen will be in action again on the same day at the same time when they host Little East Conference rival Western Connecticut State University.
