Women's Volleyball (8-8, 0-3) Records 3-1 Week, Downs Regionally-Ranked Trinity

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team went 3-1 last week, dropping a 3-2 (25-19, 25-19, 19-25, 14-25, 13-15) decision at Babson College on Tuesday in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play before picking up a trio of five-set victories. The Lyons knocked off host Salve Regina University, 3-2 (32-34, 26-24, 15-25, 25-19, 15-8) on Thursday before taking a pair of decisions during a home tri-match on Saturday, defeating Roger Williams University, 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 16-25, 19-25, 15-13) and regionally-ranked Trinity College, 3-2 (25-22, 25-15, 20-25, 8-25, 21-19). Against Salve Regina, sophomore Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) broke a nine-year-old school record for kills, while junior Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) became just the third Lyon to reach the 2,500-assist plateau. Wheaton has played five straight five-set matches, equaling its longest such run since September 1996.

At Babson, Howitt totaled 19 kills and 12 digs, senior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) tallied 15 kills, and sophomore Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) added 12. Rose contributed 51 assists and 11 digs, sophomore Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) added 18 digs, and freshman Olanna Nissim (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) had 14.

Against Salve Regina, Howitt's school-record 33 kills were one more than Bonnie Campbell's '01 former mark, set in 2000, while Rose's career-high-tying 59 assists matched the program's fourth-highest total. Rose added 15 digs, and Howitt had 14. Kraus notched 12 kills, 13 digs and four blocks, while McGrath had 12 kills and five blocks. Davisson collected 24 digs, and junior Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) chipped in with 15.

Versus Roger Williams, Kraus had 17 kills, while Howitt notched 16 kills and 13 digs. Rose contributed 50 assists, Davisson totaled 23 digs, and Hunt and Nissim provided 17 apiece.

Against Trinity, which is ranked 13th in the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) poll, Kraus tallied 14 kills, five aces and four blocks, while Howitt had 11 kills and 11 digs. Rose totaled 35 assists while joining Davisson and Nissim with 15 digs, and Hunt notched 13 digs.

Rose is third in program history in career assists (2,633) and ninth in aces (171), while Kraus is sixth in kills (977), seventh in blocks (254) and eighth in attacks (2,655). Hunt is seventh in digs (1,285).