LYONS SNAP SAINTS’ STREAK

NORTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel College Women's Volleyball Team dropped a 3-1 decision at Wheaton College on Thursday night.  Junior outside hitter/setter Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif.) produced her second-straight triple-double to guide the Lyons past the Saints with set scores of 27-29, 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20, in non-conference action inside Emerson Gymnasium.  The Saints had previously put together a six-game win streak, which was snapped tonight by the host Lyons.

D. Wilson registered 16 kills, 16 assists and 24 digs to compile her fifth triple-double this season and sixth of her career alongside an .833 serve-receive percentage and two block assists. Sophomore Colleen Koen (Centerville, Mass.) put home nine swings, while junior Casey Hess (Pickerington, Ohio) collected eight kills and classmate Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H.) chipped in with seven kills. Sophomore setter Caitlin Hellebrand (Corona, Calif.) facilitated the attack with 23 assists, two service aces and 17 digs.

Defensively for Wheaton, sophomore Olivia Wilson (Alameda, Calif.) bumped up 23 attacks and logged a .938 serve-receive percentage.  Freshman Jodi Katz (Needham, Mass.) had seven digs, posted a perfect serve-receive percentage on 25 attempts and logged two service aces. Classmate Stephanie Martin (Centerville, Mass.) contributed ten digs and two aces.

Emmanuel junior Danielle Rose (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and sophomore Cassie Chruscielski (Duluth, Minn.) tied for the team-lead in kills with seven apiece. Junior Shannon Dudley (Morro Bay, Calif.) tallied a double-double with 20 assists and 16 digs in addition to five kills and one service ace. Defensively, senior Cara Callahan (Medway, Mass.) paced the Saints with 18 digs, while sophomore Sarah Schemerhorn (Los Angeles, Calif.) fashioned 17 digs, senior Christine Durkee (Salem, Conn.) had 10 and Chruscielski finished with 15 on the night.

In set one, Wheaton junior middle hitter Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif.) got the Lyons off to a fast start with a kill on the very first point of the match before holding serve for seven-straight additional tally marks on the scoreboard, which featured two of her team-leading four service aces during that stretch. Wheaton led by as many as nine points during the first stanza (10-1 & 19-10) before Emmanuel charged back with a 6-0 run to make the score 19-16. Saints' junior Brittany Tulalo (Johnston, R.I.) spearheaded the spurt as she held serve throughout the entire run.

Wheaton eventually pushed back with a 4-3 run of its own for a 23-19 advantage but Emmanuel answered back to even the score at 23-23, which was capped by a 15-touch rally. Dudley registered the match-tying point with an over pass that just bounced inside the left corner of court after Schemerhorn kept the ball in play with a pancake style dig. The Saints capitalized on the momentum eventually taking the set 29-27.

The Lyons regrouped in set two with a 25-21 victory as D. Wilson powered the offense with five put-aways and Hess turned in four out of her eight swings for kills. Tied 20-20, Koen sent home a booming kill to sparkplug a 5-1 spurt for the hosts that also featured aces from D. Wilson and Katz.

In set three, Wheaton held on for a 25-23 triumph as the third stanza featured eight ties and three lead changes. Six different student-athletes connected for kills including Jacobs, Hess, Sarah Alexander (Wayne, Pa.), D. Wilson Koen and Taylor Matook (Exeter, R.I.). Defensively, the Lyons managed three blocks and the back row turned in 19 digs.

Set four featured 11 ties and five lead changes before Wheaton finally earned the victory, 25-20, and wrapped up match. Koen and Creighton ripped four kills apiece, while Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif.) had two kills and D. Wilson sent home three swings to highlight the attack. The 11th and final tie of set four occurred with the score at 19-19. The Lyons utilized three kills down the stretch – including two from Koen – and were also benefactors of two attack errors and one service error by Emmanuel.

As a team, Wheaton registered eight blocks (16 block assists), 91 digs, a .931 serve-receive percentage, 54 kills, 48 assists and 12 service aces. Emmanuel connected on 30 kills, dished out 27 assists, and also had eight blocks (1 solo, 14 assists).

Wheaton (9-8) travels to Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday for the 34th Annual Crabtree Classic that will also feature Framingham State University and the University of New England. The Lyons open up play against Eastern Conn. St. at 12 p.m. Emmanuel (12-9) heads to Albertus Magnus College for a tri-match versus the Falcons and the City College of New York with first serve scheduled for 1 p.m.

- Courtesy of Wheaton College Sports Information