NORTON, MA- Wheaton College senior Liana Merrill (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) was named most valuable player of the Wheaton Invitational over the weekend, as the two-day event came to a close on Saturday in Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons won the team title after finishing as the lone undefeated squad in the four-school field and improving to 8-16. Freshman Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) landed on the four-player all-tournament team.

The Blue and White opened play with a 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-11) win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) on Friday before blanking Eastern Nazarene College, 3-0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-14) and Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-17) on Saturday.

The Lyons came within two service aces of a school record against MCLA, posting 21 while nearly cracking the program's single-match top 10 by hitting .373, including .571 in the opening set. Wheaton ran out to a 7-0 lead in the opener, as Merrill dropped a kill for the first point and notched aces on each of the subsequent four points. In the second set, an early 8-1 run helped the Blue and White dig out of a 5-4 hole and put it in the lead for good. Another 8-1 jaunt in set three erased MCLA's 3-0 edge and gave Wheaton an advantage it would not relinquish.

Howitt finished with 10 kills and seven aces, while Merrill had seven kills and eight aces. Sophomore Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) turned in 27 assists, and classmate Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) led the defense with nine digs.

Freshman Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) served the Lyons to the first 11 points of their match with Eastern Nazarene, dropping three aces during that time. In the second set, Wheaton used a 12-2 run to build upon a 7-6 edge. Merrill recorded aces on the first two points of the final set, while the Blue and White slowly pulled away thanks to a 14-6 run in the middle of the set.

For the match, Merrill finished with 10 kills and five aces, Howitt added nine kills, while junior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) totaled seven kills, three blocks and three aces. Rose tallied 25 assists, Hunt notched nine digs, and Davisson contributed eight digs and four aces.

Against Wentworth, Wheaton opened the match by expanding upon a three-point lead with a late 7-1 run to clinch the first set. During the second set, the Lyons trailed, 9-6 before scoring 10 of the next 11 points and eventually ending the set on a 19-6 run. With the hosts holding a narrow 13-10 edge in set three, Kraus sparked a 5-0 run with three kills during a four-point span. At match point, Merrill landed a kill to clinch Wheaton's third sweep of the weekend.

Kraus led the Lyons with 16 kills, while Merrill and Howitt tallied nine and seven kills, respectively. Rose collected 33 assists, Hunt had 16 digs, and Davisson notched eight digs and three aces.

Wheaton returns to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday at Mount Holyoke College with a 7:00 p.m. match.