NORTON, Mass. — Sophomore right side hitter Jack Kenyon (Westerly, R.I.) put down 17 kills to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's volleyball team to a thrilling 3-2 (23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-17, 15-11) comeback victory over visiting American International College this evening at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons close out their inaugural season with an 11-16 record, while the Yellowjackets fall to 2-18 on the year.
Wheaton dropped the first two sets of the match and faced a 17-12 deficit in the third set, before turning it around to win the final three frames. The Lyons hit .246 for the match, including a fourth quarter that saw the Blue and White commit just one attack error and hit .429. AIC also enjoyed a big quarter, hitting a robust .571 with just two errors in the second frame, en-route to a .233 mark for the night. The Lyons were big at the net, owning a formidable 14-4 advantage in blocks.
Kenyon finished with a .394 hitting mark to go with a pair of aces, four block assists and eight digs for Wheaton, while first year outside hitter Masiah Prak (Coventry, R.I.) spiked for 10 kills on a .529 hitting clip and added four block assists and a trio of digs. First year setter Jacob Hoy (Essex Junction, Vt.) led all players with 38 assists and three aces in addition to three block assists, three digs and a kill. Sophomore middle blocker Jimmy Ciummo (Barrington, R.I.) got up for a career-high seven blocks, including a solo and fired an ace to go with a dig.
Senior outside hitter Robert Santana (Juncos, P.R.) put down a match-high 19 kills, including the 500th of his career early in the second set for the Yellowjackets. He hit .375 and added an ace and a match-best 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Armani Anderson (Christansed, V.I.) swung for 10 kills, got up for a block and picked up five digs. First year middle blocker Dymittry Terra (Boca Raton, Fla.) put away eight kills on a blistering .583 hitting mark and sophomore setter Rian Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio) set for 37 assists, fired three aces and got down for eight digs.
The Lyons opened an early 7-4 lead, paced by a kill and an ace from first year right side hitter Ryan Rathbun (North Kingstown, R.I.). American International responded with a 7-2 burst, led by a pair of Anderson kills, to take the lead for good at 11-9. Wheaton closed to within 13-12, but AIC went on a 5-2 spurt, including two kills each from Anderson and Terra, to increase its margin to 18-14. The Lyons put together a 6-2 run, including a pair of aces from Hoy to knot the score at 20-20. Rathbun kept the set tied at 23-23 with a kill, before the Yellowjackets tallied the final two points to take the set.
The second set was tied at 3-3, before AIC went on a 7-3 stretch, fueled by four kills Santana, including his 500th, to give the visitors a 10-6 margin. First year R. Bennett Chiappetta Middlefield, Conn.) capped a 4-1 stretch to cut the deficit to 11-10 for Wheaton, but it was as close as the home team would get. The Lyons stayed within 16-14, before the Yellowjackets closed out the frame with a 9-4 stretch to take the set and a 2-0 match lead.
Wheaton looked to extend the match, getting out to a 6-3 early lead, but AIC scored five of the next six points, including a kill and an ace from Santana, to take an 8-7 edge. The Lyons stayed within a point at 10-9, before a 7-3 run capped by an ace from Woods gave American International a 17-12 cushion. The visitors looked primed for a sweep, but Wheaton pulled it together with a 13-5 run to close out the set at 25-22. Kenyon snapped a 21-21 tie with a pair of aces to give the Lyons the lead for good and ended the final stretch with a pair of kills and two aces, while Prak put down three kills.
Wheaton's determination to extend the night was evident with a 14-6 advantage in the fourth set, led by three kills from Kenyon. AIC scored four of the next five points to close within 15-10, but Prak put down a kill and Ciummo fired an ace to bump the lead to 17-10. Kenyon maintained the difference with a kill to make it 21-14. Sophomore outside hitter Toreign Foster (East Hartford, Conn.) and Santana put away back-to-back kills to cut the margin to 21-16, before the home team closed out the frame with four of the final five points to force a fifth set.
The Lyons jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the fifth set, before Santana put down a kill later in the frame to bring American International within 11-9. It was as close as the visitors would get. AIC got within two points on three occasions late in the set, but each time committed a service error to give Wheaton a chance to close out the contest. The Lyons ended the match with a 4-2 burst, including a kill from sophomore outside hitter Connor Lloyd (Swansea, Mass.) for match point.
The Yellowjackets return to the court on Saturday, April 11 when they head to Rochester, N.Y. to take on Roberts Wesleyan University at 1:00 p.m.
