Norton, Mass. - September 17, 2019 - Opening up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday evening, the Mount Holyoke College volleyball team fell to host Wheaton College, 3-0, at Emerson Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Lyons fall to 2-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Wheaton improves to 8-3 on the year with a 1-0 record against league foes. Mount Holyoke College lost by the set scores of 16-25, 18-25, 17-25.
Leading the Lyons was a great effort from first-year Marianne Simon (Miami, Fla.), who notched seven kills to go along with a team-best 12 digs, while both Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.) and Sarah Bishop (Rutland, Mass.) registered five kills apiece. Brayden Walden (McKinney, Texas) handed out nine assists in the loss.
The two sides wrestled the lead back-and-forth to open the match, before Bishop picked up an ace to make it 8-5, Lyons, before controlling a 12-8 lead on another ace, this time from Simon. Leading 14-11, Mount Holyoke College surrendered a 6-0 run to fall behind 17-14, before Wheaton took a 21-15 lead on an attack error from the visitors. Closing out the first set, Wheaton got three-consecutive kills from Adara Hamilton (Mercer Island, Wash.) to claim the first frame.
Wheaton jumped out to a 7-3 lead to begin the second set, but a kill from Simon brought it to within two, before Bishop put one down to make it a one-point deficit for the Lyons. Wheaton rebuilt a 13-8 lead, but once again, the Lyons made the game even with a five-point run to make it 13-13 midway through the stanza. From there, Wheaton rattled off the next seven points to make it 20-13, before Simon picked up three-consecutive points for the Lyons, making it 24-18, Wheaton. The Lyons would then get a kill and seal the second set, 25-18.
An ace from Simon gave the visitors a 7-5 lead to begin set two, but a 6-0 run, capped by a kill from Hamilton, made it 13-8, Wheaton. The Lyons would close the gap to three points on a kill from McKenna Crosby (Jonesborough, Tenn.), but five-straight points from Wheaton bolstered a 21-13 lead for the hosts. From there, Simine would pick up a late kill, but Wheaton was able to finish the 25-17 set win and seal the three-set sweep.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will continue NEWMAC play and will travel to take on Wellesley at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 21.
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