NORTON, Mass. – The Springfield College women's volleyball team swept host Wheaton College (Mass.), 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-23), this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons drop to 5-12 overall and 0-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Pride improve to 11-4 and 3-2.
The teams combined for 42 attack errors, including 21 for each side. Wheaton fired 10 aces, but committed 17 service errors.
Junior middle hitter Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) topped the Lyons with eight points, including five kills, two aces and a pair of block assists, while classmate Katie de la Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.) spiked for five kills and got up for three blocks, including a solo. First year outside hitter Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) contributed with five kills and two digs. Senior setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) set for 15 assists, fired two aces and picked up three digs. Senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) scooped up 22 digs to give her 1,512 for her career to become just the eighth player in school history to surpass the 1,500 mark for digs. She also added a pair of aces.
Senior outside hitter Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) led all players with 11 points for Springfield, including six kills, three aces, four block assists and nine digs. Senior middle blocker Jodi Saelua (Mililani, Hawaii) swung for seven kills and added three blocks, including a solo, and first year middle blocker Gabbie Weissgarber (Colorado Springs, Colo.) put down seven kills to go with four block assists and a dig. Senior setter Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) directed the offense with 26 assists in addition to three kills, an ace, a block and five digs. First year libero Caroline Burg (Vernon, Conn.) got down for 22 digs and served up an ace.
Wheaton owned an early 10-7 lead in the opening set, behind a pair of kills and an ace from first year outside hitter Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) and later maintained a 16-13 margin. The Pride ripped off five straight points, including two kills from James, to take an 18-16 lead. The teams traded a point each before the Lyons scored five of the next six points, led by a pair of kills from Jenkins, to give the home team a 22-20 lead. de la Pena put down a kill to give Wheaton set point at 24-22, before Springfield came to life for a 5-1 blitz to end the set and take a 1-0 match lead.
The Pride erased an early one-point deficit with a 7-1 run, fueled by two kills and a pair of aces from James, to give the visitors an 8-3 advantage in the middle frame. After an exchange of points, the Lyons scored four straight points to pull within a point at 9-8. Springfield countered with six unanswered points, capped by a kill from junior outside hitter Alexa Bonato (Orange, Conn.) to give the Pride a 15-8 lead for their biggest lead of the frame. Wheaton cut the deficit to 18-16, before Springfield scored four of the next five points to increase its margin to 22-17. The Lyons answered in kind with a 4-1 burst, capped by an Orbán ace to bring the home team within 23-21. The Pride tallied the next two points to take the set and go up 2-0 in the contest.
Jenkins fired an ace to even the count at 3-3 for Wheaton in the third set, before Springfield put together a formidable 11-2 stretch, capped by a Bonato kill to give the Pride a 14-5 advantage. The Lyons scored the next four points, including an ace from Jenkins to pull the Blue and White within 14-9. An ace from Orbán kept Wheaton within five at 16-11. Springfield got some breathing room with three of the next four points, capped by a kill from Saelua to make it 19-12. The Lyons roared back with an impressive 8-2 run, paced by a kill and an ace from Jenkins, to cut the deficit to one at 21-20. An ace from sophomore outside hitter Avery Chandler (Stoneville, N.C.) gave the Pride a three-point lead and match point with a 24-21 margin, but back-to-back points from Wheaton made it 24-23. Springfield dashed the home team's hopes for a comeback with the final point to take the set and the match.
The Lyons return to the hardwood when they travel to Newport, R.I. on Tuesday, October 13 to play Salve Regina University at 7:00 p.m. in conference action, while the Pride head to New London, Conn. to take on conference foe United States Coast Guard Academy at 6:00 p.m. on the same night.
