Wheaton College (MA)

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team kept Saturday morning's match at Bridgewater State University close in all three sets, but ultimately came up short as they fell to the Bears 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 23-25) in Bridgewater.

Wheaton fell to 3-4 overall following the loss, while the Bears made it four wins in a row to improve to 5-1 on the season. 

First year Maddy Botelho (Swansea, Mass.) led the Lyons as she brought home seven kills on .133 hitting with three digs and a service ace to fill out an all-around performance from the rookie. Junior Katie De La Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.) had an efficient day in the middle as she knocked down five kills on .200 hitting, as well as three blocking assists. Senior setter Ajsa Orbán (Budapest, Hungary) finished with a team-high 10 assists with one kill off the dump as well. Senior libero Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, Fla.) held down the defense with a team-high 12 digs, while first year outside hitter Czyleah Pabustan (Lathrop, Calif.) finished with five digs for the second-highest mark on the team.

Senior Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) finished with a game-high 10 kills on .160 hitting as well as 10 digs for a double-double. Senior Xin Ai Robinson (Kaiserslautern, Germany) led the Bears with 16 assists, but junior Natalie Fredericksen (Plymouth, Mass.) was hot on her teammate's heels with 12 assists. Senior libero Lilly Misay (New Bedford, Mass.) had the game-high in digs with 13, one more than Wheaton's leader Hochberg.

Wheaton scored the first point of the match thanks to an error by the Bears, but the hosts quickly righted the ship and scored five unanswered points to take an early 5-1 lead. A pair of kills by Welch continued the Bears' lead, but the Lyons would manage to gain back some ground. An attacking error by Welch set off a string of four consecutive Bridgewater errors, which De La Pena compounded with a kill to tie the set at 9-9. First year pin hitter Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) slammed the go-ahead point home to put Wheaton ahead 10-9. Unfortunately, Bridgewater responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take the lead right back from the Lyons. Both sides found themselves stuck in the mud after the Bears' scoring run, but senior Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, La.) and Inch were each able to put down a kill to tie the set at 19-19. De La Pena and Botelho both added kills to keep pace with the hosts, but a Lyons attacking error ended their comeback hopes as they dropped the first set 25-23. 

Botelho recorded Wheaton's first point of the second set, but once again the Bears were able to put an early scoring run together. Facing an early 6-2 deficit, Wheaton needed offense to get back into the frame. Pabustan was able to stop the bleeding with a kill, but the Bears were the first to 10 points thanks to back-to-back attacking errors by the Lyons. Welch added a pair of kills while the Lyons continued to spin their wheels without purchase, driving the hosts' advantage to 20-13. Four consecutive Bridgewater errors gave Wheaton some momentum, but errors got in their way once again. They fought back well, but came up just short in the second set as they fell 25-23 again. 

Welch had a hot start to the third set as her side looked to complete the sweep over the Lyons. She smacked three kills in the opening phase to help her team to an early 6-3 lead. A Bridgewater error and a Botelho service ace put Wheaton within a point of their opponents, but the Bears were able to momentarily pull away. A Bears service error followed by a Pabustan kill made it 7-7, but once again the Lyons were unable to progress past the deadlock. A string of Wheaton errors gave the hosts a 14-11. A 6-2 scoring run from the Bears inflated their advantage to 20-14, and the Lyons had their backs against the wall. De La Pena, Botelho and even the libero Hochberg put down kills in the late phase of the third set, but their combined effort was not enough to dig the Lyons out of their hole. Back-to-back kills from Bridgewater ended the match and gave them their third straight set win at 25-23. 

Wheaton will come back to Norton for just their second home match of the season this Wednesday at 7:00 pm against UMass Boston. Bridgewater will also stay at home for a Wednesday match as they take on Coast Guard at 6:00 pm.