Women's Volleyball (18-15, 2-7) Completes Season, Narrowly Misses NEWMAC Tourney

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team went 1-2 last week, falling twice in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play to narrowly miss out on qualifying for the postseason tournament. The Lyons dropped a 3-2 (25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 11-15) decision to visiting Clark University on Tuesday before rebounding with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-22) triumph at non-league foe Emmanuel College on Thursday. However, Saturday's 3-2 (16-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-18, 9-15) loss at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in a must-win match for both teams ended Wheaton's campaign. The Blue and White's eight five-set wins and 13 five-set matches were its most in the last two decades, as the Lyons had gone to five sets 13 times during their previous 91 matches since 2006 prior to this fall.

Sophomore Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) turned in a double-double against Clark with 23 kills and 14 digs, while senior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) had eight kills and five aces in her final match in Emerson Gymnasium. Junior Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) recorded 47 assists and 15 digs, and sophomore Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) had five blocks. Sophomore Emily Davisson (Carpinteria, CA/Laguna Blanca School) totaled 25 digs, while junior Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) and freshman Olanna Nissim (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) had 17 apiece.

At Emmanuel, Kraus, Howitt and freshman Rachel Vergara (Needham, MA/Needham) recorded 11, 10 and nine kills, respectively, while Rose tallied 36 assists. Davisson led the defense with 20 digs, Howitt contributed 17, and Nissim added 11. Nissim also accounted for four service aces, while Kraus and Vergara posted three blocks apiece.

Howitt led the visitors with 15 kills and 17 digs at WPI, while Kraus closed the book on a standout career with 12 kills and four blocks. Vergara added eight kills, and Rose provided 43 assists, 11 digs and three blocks. Davisson turned in 23 digs, while Hunt had 16.

Rose enters her senior year third in program history in career assists (3,214) and tied for sixth in aces (204), while Kraus finished her four years fourth in attacks (3,112) and sets played (467), fifth in kills (1,143), sixth in hitting percentage (.228), seventh in blocks (288) and eighth in aces (184). Hunt is fifth in digs (1,464). Rose totaled the program's third-highest single-season assist total (1,170) this fall, becoming the first player in Wheaton history with multiple 1,000-assist seasons, while Howitt was sixth in kills (456), recording the most by a Lyon since 2000 and the highest figure by an underclassman since 1998. Howitt was also fourth in attacks (1,277) with the most since 1999.