NORTON, Mass. - A balanced attack gave the Wheaton College volleyball team a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16) win over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday in Norton, Mass.
With the win in the battle of the Lyons, Wheaton improves to 6-9 and 1-2 in conference play, while Mount Holyoke drops to 5-6 and is 0-5 in the NEWMAC.
Wheaton had four players with at least five kills, led by nine from Taylor Mattook (Exeter, R.I./Exeter-West Greenwich). The senior outside hitter also had two block assists and four digs. Clare Cansler (Newhall, Calif./William S. Hart) had seven kills, Dierdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) had six and Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch) had five to round out the Wheaton leaders. Wilson, a senior setter, also had 29 assists and four service aces. Sophomore libero Stephanie Martin (Centreville, Mass. / Barnstable) led Wheaton with eight digs.
For Mount Holyoke, first-year middle hitters Joy Maran (Santa Fe, N.M./Santa Fe Prep) and Jamesa Allen (Orlando, Fla./Lake Nona) each recorded a team-high four kills. Allen also led the Mount Holyoke front line with two solo blocks and three block assists. Defensively, junior setter Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va./Flint Hill School) had a game-high 14 digs, while Sara Robicheau (Easton, Pa./Notre Dame HS) adding 10. Lyon also had 13 assists.
Wheaton got off to a quick start, scoring the first six points of the opening set, and taking an 11-3 lead on a kill by Wilson. A kill by senior outside hitter Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) and a block by Sweeting and Sarah Caggiano (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) pulled MHC back to within six points at 15-9, but they could draw no closer and a pair of kills by Cansler closed out the opening set.
Mount Holyoke came out strongly in the second set, with a service ace by Isabell Linde (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) putting the visitors up 8-2, and forcing Wheaton into a time out. MHC extended their lead to 11-4, before Wheaton mounted a comeback. A seven-point run, highlighted by a pair of kills by Cansler, put Wheaton in front 14-12. The Lyons regained the lead at 15-14, and again at 17-16 on a block by Caggiano and Maran. However, Wheaton scored the set's last nine points, led by three kills from Mattook, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, Wheaton took a 4-1 lead, but Mount Holyoke tied the game at 4-4 on a block by Allen and Maran. However, Wheaton went on a five-point run, including a pair of aces by Sweeting, to take a 9-4 lead. They extended the lead to 13-6 on a kill by Jacobs. An block by Allen and Maran pulled MHC back to within four points at 18-14, but they could get no closer, as Wheaton scored seven of the game's final nine points to win 25-16.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday. Wheaton travels to Springfield, while Mount Holyoke hosts Wellesley College at the Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium. Both matches start at 7 pm.
Story courtesy of John Edwards.
