NORTHAMPTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-27) decision at Smith College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening at Ainsworth Gym, losing its final two sets by a combined five points. The Lyons are now 3-13 overall and 0-4 in league play, while the Pioneers improved to 6-9 and 2-2.

Junior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) had 15 kills to lead Wheaton's offense, while freshman Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) collected seven kills and 10 digs. Senior Liana Merrill (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) turned in seven kills and eight digs, and sophomore Kaitlyn Stokes (Tewksbury, MA/Tewksbury Memorial) notched five kills.

Sophomore Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) tallied 37 assists and 10 digs, freshman Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) contributed a team-high 15 digs, and sophomore Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) had seven digs and three service aces.

For Smith, sophomore Alexandra Rissi (Scottsdale, AZ/Xavier College Prep) tallied eight kills, while senior Courtney Parker (Berlin, MD/Stephen Decatur) and junior Bethany Weiss (Windham, NH/Salem) each had seven. Juniors Brianne Connizzo (Demarest, NJ/Northern Valley Regional) and Mikal Minarich (Hobart, IN/River Forest) added 14 and 10 digs, respectively. Sophomore Lauren Martinez (Phoenix, AZ/Cortez) notched 18 assists.

Wheaton returns to action this weekend at the two-day Johnson & Wales University Classic. The Lyons' four-match slate begins against Suffolk University on Friday at 4:00 p.m.