BEVERLY, Mass. - Sophomore middle blocker Jimmy Ciummo (Barrington, R.I.) totaled 10 kills for a new career-high as the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's volleyball team took down Vermont State University Johnson in a three-set sweep (25-21, 25-21, 25-10) on Saturday at Endicott.

Wheaton improves to 8-10 with the win, while the Badgers fall to 3-15 on the year.

Ciummo led the Lyons with 10 kills on .533 hitting, adding five block assists and two digs. Sophomore Connor Lloyd (Swansea, Mass.) finished with nine kills on .500 hitting with two block assists and two digs of his own. First year setter Jacob Hoy (Essex Junction, Vt.) finished with 24 assists for his third most-ever, and sophomore Ellis Vasquez (Medford, Mass.) finished with a team-high seven digs as the Lyons swept the first game of the tri-match.

Badgers sophomore Io Binder (Portland, Ore.) finished with five kills, six assists and seven digs to lead his team in all three categories. Junior Liam Carrick (Key West, Fla.) had four kills on .400 hitting for the team-high in hitting percentage.

Lloyd opened up the day with a kill to start the first set, and the Lyons quickly jumped ahead to a 6-3 lead behind a number of missed attacks by the Beavers. First year Landon Hanscom (New Haven, Conn.) put down his first kill of the game after a Wheaton missed serve, and Hoy made up for the service error with an ace to go ahead 8-4. Lloyd put down two more kills to advance the lead, but a few service errors saw the Badgers climb within one at 10-9. Each side exchanged errors, but it was the Vermont-based side that would take a 14-13 lead midway through the frame. Three straight kills from first year R. Bennett Chiappetta (Middlefield, Conn.) and a fourth from sophomore Jack Kenyon (Westerly, R.I.) put the Lyons back in the driver's seat of the set. Lloyd, Chiapetta and Kenyon all added a kill down the stretch to secure the first set for Wheaton at 25-21.

Wheaton was even with the Badgers through the start of the second set as Lloyd put down another kill to make it 6-6. A Hanscom service ace, two more kills from Lloyd and another spike from Chiapetta put the Lyons in control at 10-8, but the Badgers were persistent. Ciummo exploded for three straight kills moments later, and Binder missed an attack to make it 15-10 Lyons in the second. The Badgers were given an inlet back into the competition after Wheaton made four straight errors to cough up their advantage. First year Sam Smith (Alameda, Calif.) put down the tying kill to make it 18-18 and slow down the Vermont advance. The game stayed even up to 21-21, but it was Wheaton who finished with four straight points to emphatically claim victory, 25-21. 

The third and final set was the least dramatic of the day, as the Lyons pounced on the Badgers for a 5-0 lead to open the frame. Hanscom picked up two more service aces and Smith picked up a kill to combine with Ciummo's spike. The Lyons were first to 10 points after first year Masiah Prak (Coventry, R.I.) picked up a pair of kills. Riding on an 11-6 lead, the Lyons posted one of their largest scoring runs in program history, outsourcing their opponents 11-1. Prak and Smith each earned kills over that stretch, but the lion's share of points were granted off of Johnson errors. Leading 22-7, the Lyons had little work to do to close out the match. Ciummo picked up one more kill to force match point, and the Lyons won 25-10 following an attack error by the Badgers. The Lyons swept the Badgers to start off the tri-match at Endicott.

Wheaton will take the floor for the next game of the tri-match in Beverly, facing off with the hosting Endicott Gulls at 3:00 pm. VTSU Johnson will take the week off as they prepare for a doubleheaders with Bard on Saturday at 1:00 pm.