NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's volleyball team nearly rallied from a two-set deficit to force a fifth, holding a 24-22 edge in the fourth set before succumbing to Western Connecticut State University, 3-1 (17-25, 20-25, 25-21, 24-26) on Friday in Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons saw a four-match winning streak end in falling to 9-17, while the Colonials improved to 13-6.

Western Connecticut State junior Rebecca Stein (Kingston, NY/Kingston) landed kills on three of the first five points in the opening set to help push the visitors to an 8-1 advantage, but Wheaton slowly chipped away before taking a 15-14 edge. However, the Colonials finished the set on an 11-2 run, with sophomore Samantha Hathaway (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) dropping an ace at set point.

With the Lyons trailing, 8-6 in the second set, the visitors went on a 7-2 run behind the service of Hathaway and sophomore Natalie Crosby (East Haven, CT/East Haven), and the Blue and White came no closer than 24-20 before falling.

Wheaton junior Lauren Kraus' (Westboro, MA/Westboro) ace knotted set three at five before the Colonials scored four straight points, but two aces by sophomore Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) and a pair of kills from freshman Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) keyed a 6-0 run that put the Lyons on top. Western Connecticut State forced three subsequent ties but never regained the lead, as Howitt landed two late kills and served at set point.

Kraus recorded kills on the first two points of the fourth set, and Wheaton used an 8-1 run to rush ahead, 12-5. Sophomore Kaitlyn Stokes' (Tewksbury, MA/Tewksbury Memorial) kill later pushed the Lyons to a 20-16 edge, but a Stein kill completed a 6-1 run that gave the visitors their first lead, 22-21. Kraus responded by knotting the set with an ensuing kill and playing a hand in a block on the next point before senior Liana Merrill's (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) ace made it 24-22 and brought the hosts within one point of forcing a fifth set. However, the Colonials came out of a timeout with four straight kills, as Stein made it 24-23 before Crosby notched three straight for the win.

Kraus led Wheaton with 14 kills and five blocks, while Howitt had nine kills and seven digs. Merrill contributed seven kills and three service aces, while Rose had 36 assists and five aces. Freshman Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) totaled 10 digs, sophomore Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) had eight, and Stokes turned in four blocks.

Crosby recorded a match-high 20 kills for Western Connecticut State, Stein added 10, and Hathaway tallied 47 assists. Freshman Kelley Collins (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) paced the defense with 27 digs.

Wheaton heads back into New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday, traveling to Wellesley College for a 7:00 p.m. match. The Blue is ranked third in the latest New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) poll.