Women's Volleyball (13-19, 3-6) Wins Twice, Clinches Berth in NEWMAC Tournament

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team went 2-0 last week in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play, clinching the seventh seed in the upcoming league tournament. The Lyons gutted out a 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 10-25, 15-12) win at Clark University on Tuesday before sweeping visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-12) during Senior Day on Saturday. Since a 2-12 start, Wheaton has gone 11-7. The Lyons will visit second-seeded Wellesley College for a NEWMAC Tournament first-round match on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

At Clark, junior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) led the Lyons with 12 kills and six service aces, while freshman Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) tallied a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) collected 35 assists, and classmate Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) turned in a team-high 14 digs. Freshman Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) added 12 digs and three aces, while senior Liana Merrill (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) had four aces.

Against WPI, Kraus finished with 10 kills while turning in a team-high four service aces, and senior Caitlin Farr (Yarmouth, MA/Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) notched nine kills and three aces during her final home match. Merrill totaled six kills, freshman Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) turned in five, while Howitt collected 28 assists in her first collegiate match as a setter. Davisson had 11 digs, and Hunt recorded a trio of aces.

Rose is fifth in program history in career assists (2,030) and ninth in season helpers (793), while Kraus is eighth in career kills (772) and blocks (220). Hunt surpassed the 1,000-dig mark, with 1,009.