WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL DROPS SEASON OPENER TO LYONS

The Mount Ida College women's volleyball team kicked off the 2009 season at New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) powerhouse Wheaton College losing 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 18-25, 26-24) this past Wednesday night.  The Mustangs fall to 0-1 overall while hosts maintain their home opener streak winning five of their last six.

Mount Ida saw outstanding performances from freshmen Michelle Begley (West Barnstable, MA/Barnstable) and Devyn Frank (Mystic, CT/Fitch) accounting for eight and seven kills, respectively.  Junior setter Kira Feeter (Keene, NH/Keene) totaled 21 assists, while classmate Chelsea Darnell (Dublin, OH/Dublin Scioto) accounted for 20 digs.
 
Lyon sophomore Miranda Howitt (San Francisco, CA/International) was one kill shy of a double-double, finishing with nine kills and 17 assists, while senior Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) paced the Blue and White attack with 12 kills.  Sophomore Lauren McGrath (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) had six kills and four blocks, while freshman Olanna Nissim (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) added seven kills in her college debut.
 

The first set featured six ties in the early going, including a 10-10 knot, before Wheaton rattled off four straight points and maintained at least a two-point edge the rest of the way.  The ensuing set saw eight ties, with the last coming at 16-all, but the Lyons again pulled away to capture a 2-0 lead.  Leading 23-20, Kraus and Howitt smacked back-to-back kills to seal the win.
 
Wheaton jumped out to a 4-0 advantage in the third set before the Mustangs used a game-changing 18-6 run to gain control.  The hosts scored the next three points to get within 18-13 but came no closer, as Mount Ida tacked on the final two points to force a fourth set. 
 
The visitors controlled play for the majority of the final set, holding leads of 20-14 and 23-20, before Wheaton answered with six of the last seven points.  The Blue and White surrendered the lone point of that run after tying things up at 23-all but responded with three straight points to ice the win.
 
The Mustangs will host non-conference UMass-Dartmouth this Saturday for their 2009 home opener starting at 1:00 p.m.