ONEONTA, N.Y. –- First year outside hitter Eliana Inch (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) put down a career-high 11 kills on a torrid .917 hitting clip to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's volleyball team over Paul Smith's College, 3-0 (25-8, 25-7, 25-9), this afternoon at the Red Dragon Classic at host State University of New York Oneonta's Dewar Arena in Oneonta, N.Y.
The Lyons even their record at 1-1 for the season, while the Bobcats drop to 0-2.
Wheaton hit a remarkable .516 for the match for the sixth-best mark in school annals and committed just seven attack errors. The Lyons hit .400 or better in all three sets and served for 21 aces for the eighth-most in program history. Paul Smith's posted a -.091 percentage for the contest.
Inch needed just 12 attack attempts to total her 11 kills and added a dig for Wheaton. First year outside hitter Ashlan Tosadori (Butler, Pa.) registered nine kills behind a .438 hitting mark in addition to a dig, while junior setter Elena Timo (Bourne, Mass.) set for 13 assists, fired a trio of aces and picked up a pair of digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Marchbanks (Cazenovia, N.Y.) led the Bobcats with two points, including a kill and an ace and first year Payton Barry (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) chipped in with a kill. Senior defensive specialist Karlye Murphy (Hilton, N.Y.) got down for a match-high 10 digs and added an ace.
The Lyons reeled off the first six points of the opening set, including a pair of kills from Inch and two aces from sophomore setter Emily Cordell (Crawfordville, Fla.). Paul Smith's tallied four of the next six points, capped by a kill from Barry to pull within 8-4. Wheaton put together a 17-4 stretch to close out the frame, led by three kills each from Inch and junior middle hitter Haley Jenkins (Dartmouth, Mass.) and a pair of kills and an ace from junior middle hitter Katie de la Pena (Castle Rock, Colo.).
The Bobcats took their only lead of the match at 3-2 of the second frame. The Lyons put Paul Smith's in the rear view mirror quickly after ripping off 15 of the next 16 points, including four kills from Inch and a trio of aces from Timo, to take a 17-4 margin. The Bobcats put down back-to-back points, including an ace from Murphy to cut the deficit to 17-6. Wheaton closed out the set with an 8-1 burst, including a pair of aces each from first year libero MJ Cockrill (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and junior defensive specialist Arianna Tanksley (Chesapeake, Va.) and two kills from Tosadori.
The Lyons raced out to an 8-0 lead, backed by four aces from sophomore defensive specialist Molly Gleason (Marstons Mills, Mass.), in the third set. Paul Smith's tallied the next two points, before Wheaton scored four of the next five points, including two kills from first year outside hitter Czyleah Pabustan (Lathrop, Calif.), to increase the Lyons' lead to 12-3. The Bobcats scored the next two points, capped by an ace from Marchbanks to pull Paul Smith's to within 12-5. Wheaton finished the match with a 13-4 run, fueled by four kills from Tosadori, to register a 25-9 victory.
The Lyons return to action against host Oneonta State at 5:00 p.m., while the Bobcats play Montclair State University at 5:00 p.m.
