MILTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's volleyball team dropped the first two sets, but rebounded to take the next two, before host Curry College came away with a 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25, 15-7) victory today at Miller Gymnasium in Milton, Mass.

The Lyons dip to 6-9 on the season, while the Colonels improve to 7-8.

Curry hit .274 for the match and fired 10 aces, while Wheaton posted a .227 hitting mark.

Sophomore right side hitter Jack Kenyon (Westerly, R.I.) led the Lyons with a school-record 20 kills on a .326 hitting stroke and finished a dig shy of a double-double with nine to go with an ace. Classmate Connor Lloyd (Swansea, Mass.) swung for 14 kills, picked up seven digs and got up for a career-best six block assists. First year setter Sebastian DeCubellis (Lincoln, R.I.) registered 37 assists and added five digs.

First year outside hitter Nicholas Watson (St. Andrew, Jamaica) led all players with 24 kills and 10 digs and hit .400 in addition to a pair of block assists for the Colonels. Sophomore outside hitter Chris Milfort (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) spiked for 15 kills on a .294 hitting clip in addition to serving up four aces, getting down for nine digs and getting up for an assisted block, while first year setter Nyko Whitaker (West Palm Beach, Fla.) directed the offense with a match-high 42 assists in addition to six digs and two block assists. 

Wheaton faced a 2-0 match deficit before taking the next two frames, 25-22, 25-23. 

Curry took a quick 5-1 lead, including a pair of aces from Milfort. The Lyons turned in a dominant 10-2 run to take the lead for good at 11-7, fueled by three kills and an ace from Lloyd. Wheaton maintained a 15-11 margin, before the Colonels scored five of the next six points to knot the set at 16-16. The teams remained tied at 17-17, before the Lyons began to separate themselves with a 6-3 burst, paced by a pair of kills from first year middle blocker Landon Hanscom (New Haven, Conn.), to take a 23-20 lead. The teams traded points before Lloyd put down the set-winning strike to cut the match deficit to 2-1.

The fourth set began in the same fashion with Curry taking five of the first six points for a 5-1 margin and later held a 7-4 lead. Wheaton scored four of the next five, behind an ace and a kill from first year middle blocker Jeremy Bullard-Smith (Boston, Mass.) to pull even at 8-8. The home team pulled ahead at 12-10, but the Lyons answered with a 4-1 outburst to take a 14-13 edge. The Colonels looked to put the match away with six of the next eight points, backed by a pair of kills each from Watson and Milfort, to take a 19-16 lead. Wheaton wouldn't go away, putting together a 7-2 run with two kills apiece from Lloyd and Kenyon to give the Lyons a 23-21 advantage. Bullard-Smith sent the match into a fifth set with a kill to give Wheaton a 25-23 win.

The Lyons' comeback effort ran out of steam as Curry closed out the match with a 10-2 run, fueled by a pair of aces and two kills from first year right side hitter Brock Beggs (Tampa, Fla.) for a 15-7 set win. Bullard-Smith had tied the frame at 5-5 with a kill before the Colonels' final blitz.

Wheaton opened the match with a 3-2 edge, before Curry went on an 8-2 stretch, paced by an ace and a kill from Watson, to put the Colonels in front at 10-5. The Lyons leveled the match following a 6-1 burst, led by two Lloyd kills, to make it 11-11. Curry scored the next four points to take a 15-11 lead following an ace from sophomore middle blocker Milo Barry Young (Springfield, Mass.). Wheaton pulled even again at 16-16, scoring five of the next six points, including a pair of kills from first year outside hitter R. Bennett Chiappetta (Middlefield, Conn.). The set remained deadlocked at 21-21, before the Colonels tallied the final four points of the frame to take a 1-0 match lead. 

The Colonels opened the second frame with a 9-6 margin, backed by four kills from Watson, and later maintained a 13-9 advantage. The Lyons put together a 7-3 burst, led by an ace and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Jimmy Ciummo (Barrington, R.I.) to pull Wheaton even at 16-16. Watson gave Curry a 19-18 edge, before Wheaton ripped off four straight points, including a kill and an ace from Kenyon, to take a 22-19 margin. The Lyons lead disappeared as the Colonels matched the burst with four unanswered points of their own to take a 23-22 lead. Kenyon later made it even at 24-24, before the home team tallied the final two points of the set for a 2-0 margin for the match.

Both teams take on Fisher College later in the day with Wheaton playing at 6:00 p.m. and Curry starting at 8:00 p.m.