LYONS SWEEP SAINTS TO SNAP LOSING STREAK
Sept. 27, 2008
NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team snapped a 10-match losing streak by sweeping the Saints, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16) on Saturday in Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons, who have won seven of eight all-time meetings with Emmanuel, improved to 3-12, while the Saints fell to 6-5 on the season.
During the opening set, the teams traded points early on, playing to a 5-5 tie before Wheaton tallied a 5-0 run behind a pair of kills from freshman Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA), but Emmanuel came back to knot the score at 12. Saint junior Nicole McAllister (Hampden, ME) landed an ace to once again bring the squads even, at 16, but freshman Irina Ionkina (Danielson, CT) immediately followed with a kill to put Wheaton on top for good and spark a 7-1 jaunt. Sophomore Kaitlyn Stokes (Tewksbury, MA) had a kill and a blocking assist on consecutive points during that time, and junior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA) later notched a kill at set point.
In the next set, Wheaton scored five of the first six points and held 11-4 and 14-7 advantages, with the second coming on a Howitt ace, before Emmanuel rallied. The Saints used a 5-0 run, during which senior Lindsey Parker (New Bedford, MA) collected two kills, to take a 19-17 edge, but a Howitt kill made it 19-19. Howitt later recorded kills to break 21-21 and 23-23 ties, while senior Liana Merrill (Northwood, NH) followed with the final kill to put Wheaton up 2-0 in the match.
Emmanuel twice led by two points early in the third set, but Wheaton turned a 7-5 deficit into a 10-7 edge on Howitt's kill and later pulled away from a two-point lead with a 6-2 burst, capped by a Kraus kill that made the score 17-11. Freshman Rebecca Stanton (Quincy, MA) eventually landed a kill to draw the Saints within 18-14, but five straight Wheaton points helped the host's cause. Freshman Lauren McGrath's (Wading River, NY) kill brought the Lyons to match point, and an Emmanuel attacking error clinched the win for Wheaton.
Howitt's 12 kills paced the Blue and White offense, while Kraus finished with eight kills. Merrill tallied five kills and seven digs, while sophomore Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA) recorded 32 assists and five service aces. Freshman Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA) notched seven digs for the victors.
For Emmanuel, Parker finished with eight kills, while junior Diana Grimaldi (Sandy Hook, CT) had six. McAllister recorded five blocks, freshman Cynthia Hernandez (South Dennis, MA) dished out 16 assists, and senior Amanda Machado (Swansea, MA) and sophomore Megan Clary (Cumberland, RI) totaled 13 and 10 digs, respectively.
Wheaton heads back to the road on Tuesday, traveling to Smith College for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match at 7:00 p.m. Emmanuel will play again next weekend, when the Saints travel to Maine to play in the Mid-Coast Invitational Tournament, hosted by Bates College and Bowdoin College.