NORTON, Mass. – The Worcester Polytechnic Institute women's volleyball team defeated host Wheaton College (Mass.), 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15), this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 10-17 and 2-8. The Engineers improve to 11-14 overall and 4-6 in NEWMAC play and clinched a playoff spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament.
WPI hit .207 for the match, while Wheaton was held to a .000 mark.
First year outside hitter Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) spiked for a match-high 10 kills and added six digs for Wheaton and senior right side hitter Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) put away nine kills, got up for a block assist and recorded a dig. First year outside hitter Czyleah Pabustan (Lathrop, Calif.) chipped in with four kills on a .429 hitting percentage in addition to picking up two digs and recording a block assist. Senior setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) led all players with 15 assists and added five digs, two block assists and an ace, while senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) got down for a match-best 16 digs.
Junior outside hitter Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, N.J.) led all players with 11 points, including seven kills, three aces and two block assists for the Engineers. Sophomore outside hitter Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, Fla.) put down six kills on a blazing .545 hitting mark to go with nine digs and an ace, while sophomore setter Lauren Boycourt (San Diego, Calif.) set for 10 assists, picked up four digs and fired an ace. First year libero Jennah DiMartino (Mission Viejo, Calif.) scooped up 12 digs and served up a pair of aces.
WPI tallied the first four points of the opening set, before the Lyons responded with five unanswered points to take a 5-4 edge. The Engineers put together a 9-4 stretch, including a pair of aces from DiMartino, to take a 13-9 margin. Wheaton reclaimed the lead with six of the next seven points, including a pair of kills from Mazzanti to give the home team a 15-14 lead. The teams were later tied at 19-19, before WPI reeled off six straight points including one of three aces from Kelnik during the blitz to give the visitors a 25-19 set victory.
The Lyons raced out to a 6-1 lead in the middle frame behind two aces from first year defensive specialist MJ Cockrill (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and a pair of kills from Mazzanti. The Engineers scored six unanswered points, led by a pair of kills from first year outside hitter Niki Szavuly (Woodinville, Wash.), to take a 7-6 margin. Wheaton later held an 11-10 edge, but it proved to be their last lead of the set with WPI rattling off eight straight points to take an 18-11 advantage, The teams traded points until the Engineers scored the final two points of the set to take the frame, 25-16, for a 2-0 match lead.
WPI opened the third set with a comfortable 10-3 lead. The Lyons scored the next three points to close within 10-6, but the Engineers scored five of the next six, including three kills from Kelnik, to increase their lead to 15-7. Wheaton cut the difference to four again with a 5-1 burst that included a pair of kills from Pabustan to make it 16-12. WPI closed out the set and the match with a 9-3 run, paced by two kills from sophomore middle blocker Olivia Hutchinson (Erie, Pa.).
The Lyons close out the season in South Hadley, Mass. with a NEWMAC tilt against Mount Holyoke College on Saturday, November 7 at 12:00 p.m., while the Engineers return to the court on the same day when they travel to Newport, R.I. to take on Salve Regina University in conference play at 1:00 p.m.
