WORCESTER -- Visiting Wheaton upended the WPI volleyball team, 3-1 (26-24, 25-14) to end the Engineers' 2023 campaign on Saturday at Harrington Auditorium. WPI concludes the season with an 11-13 overall record, 4-7 in conference play. The Lyons (14-13, 5-6 NEWMAC) move on to the NEWMAC Tournament, beginning with quarterfinal matches on Tuesday.
Catherine Reynolds (Concord, NH) posted a double-double in her final match as an Engineer, finishing with 10 kills, 17 assists, and seven digs.
Olivia Deckers (Marlboro, MA) notched nine kills, hitting .364, while
Emily Hudson (Melrose, MA) had seven kills, hitting .353, with four blocks.
Lily Eldridge (Danvers, MA) tallied a double-double with 12 assists and 13 digs, while
Jia Yazon (South Windsor, CT) led WPI with 14 digs and
Alexandra Spezzano (Medway, MA) had eight.
For Wheaton,
Sydney Lyon (Weston, CT.) led all players with 19 kills, adding nine digs and two aces.
Mary Caroline Mazzanti (New Orleans, LA) had nine kills and
Hollis Hanson (Parker, CO) added seven, with
Julianna Flack (Saint Petersburg, FL) running the offense to the tune of 35 assists.
Jackie Hochberg (Tampa, FL) led the Lyons with 12 digs and eight aces.
A tight set one went Wheaton's way in extra points, as the Lyons took it 26-24 to set the tone for the match. The visitors opened on a 6-0 run, with the lead growing to eight points (12-4) early on. WPI closed the gap to four, but a 4-0 surge, including four Hochberg aces, made it 17-9 Wheaton. Trailing 20-13, WPI mounted a furious comeback that saw the hosts go on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 24-22. However, Wheaton regained its footing and ended the frame with four unanswered points.
WPI answered back with a lopsided set two win to tie the match at 1-1. A 7-1 surge gave the Engineers a 14-5 advantage early in the frame. Wheaton only managed back-to-back points once in the whole set, with those points making it 19-9. From there, WPI rattled off six unanswered to take the set 25-9.
Wheaton followed with a large win of their own to regain the match lead after three sets. Tied 2-2 early, the Lyons scored six of the next seven points to open an 8-3 advantage. WPI battled back to make it a one-point set at 10-9, but six straight Wheaton points ballooned the lead back to 16-9. The Engineers closed the gap to five late, but that's as close as they would get, as the Lyons ended the set on a 9-2 run to win it 25-13.
Wheaton's momentum carried into the early action in the fourth and final set. The Lyons opened with a 5-2 surge before WPI used a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the frame at 10-7. Wheaton then put it away with hot serving from Hochberg, who engineered a 14-0 run, as the Lyons finished the set at 25-14, taking the match, 3-1.
Full NEWMAC Tournament seedings and pairings will be announced later today on NEWMACSports.com.
