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Oct. 16, 2007

Box Score

NORTON, Mass. - The Wheaton College women's volleyball team rallied from a one-game deficit to defeat Babson College, 3-1 (30-32, 30-17, 30-21, 31-29) in its home finale on Tuesday evening in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action in Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons, who have now won the last nine meetings between the teams, are 19-9 overall and 3-4 in the league. The Beavers fell to 9-10 and 2-5 in the NEWMAC.

In game one, the teams went back and forth throughout. Wheaton held a narrow 10-8 lead before Babson scored five straight points, but the Lyons eventually led, 21-18 late in the game. From there, six different Wheaton leads were washed out by the Beavers, who knotted the contest at 23, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 29 before sophomore Caitlin O'Neill (Lynnfield, MA/Lynnfield) landed a kill to give the visitors a 30-29 edge, their first lead since 17-16. Lyon freshman Sam Andreacchi's (Burlingame, CA/Pinewood School) kill tied the score at 30, but O'Neill recorded another kill before the Beavers clinched the 1-0 match lead.

Wheaton led early in the second game by as many as six at 9-3, but the Beavers whittled their deficit down to 13-12 and trailed, 18-15 following O'Neill's ace. The Lyons embarked on a 12-2 run from there, as sophomore Lauren Kraus (Westboro, MA/Westboro) had two kills and two aces, while junior Caitlin Farr (Yarmouth, MA/Dennis-Yarmouth Regional) and freshman Natasha von Sonn (Burbank, CA/Burbank) had two kills each.

Von Sonn's three kills sparked a 6-0 run in game three that put Wheaton up, 10-4, but Babson rallied to within three points on a trio of occasions, the last at 16-13. Two Kraus blocks keyed five straight points at the beginning of a 12-5 run, and the Lyons never looked back en route to taking a 2-1 match lead.

After Wheaton dug out of an early three-point hole in game four to lead, 16-10, the teams stayed close down the stretch. The Beavers rallied from an 18-13 deficit to knot the game at 18 behind a block and a kill from freshman Britt Libby (South Windsor, CT/South Windsor) before the Lyons forged ahead, 21-18. Wheaton saw a 22-21 edge go by the wayside, and neither team led again by more than one until the final score. In a 28-all game, Babson players twice made critical saves during a long rally that ended in an Andreacchi kill, but freshman Tina Kaindl (Niederteufen, Austria/American International School-Salzburg) landed a kill to draw the Beavers even. Wheaton recorded the final two points, including an Andreacchi kill at match point following another long rally.

Kraus finished with a well-rounded line of 17 kills, six blocks and four service aces, while von Sonn notched 13 kills, 22 digs and three blocks. Andreacchi totaled nine kills and 13 digs in only two games, and freshman setter Becca Rose (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) had 47 assists and 15 digs. Classmates Kristen Hunt (Milford, CT/Jonathan Law) and Rae Bradley (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) contributed 22 and 18 digs, respectively, while junior Sarah Oster (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) added 17.

O'Neill's 13 kills led the Beavers, while sophomore Shanna Glassner (Orland Park, IL/Carl Sandburg) added 40 assists and 17 digs. Junior Ryan DePaoli (Kennesaw, GA/Lakeland) had 26 digs, and freshman Kathryn Alea (Southboro, MA/Algonquin Regional) tallied 17 digs.

The Lyons return to action this weekend at the Hall of Fame Tournament, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. match at Amherst College on Friday against the Lord Jeffs, who are ranked fourth in New England.