NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida took the third set down to the wire on Tuesday evening against Wheaton College, but fell in straight sets in non-conference women's volleyball action at Mount Ida Athletic Center.

The Mustangs nearly forced a fourth set before the Lyons came back to claim the victory by scores of 25-19, 25-16, 26-24. Mount Ida drops to 2-6 on the season, and Wheaton gets above the .500 mark, at 4-3.

Hillary Kostner (Corona, Calif.) led Mount Ida with five kills, while Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.) had a team-high 11 assists and eight digs.

For the visitors, a balanced attack saw Deirdre Wilson (Aptos, Calif.) lead the way with 9 kills and also assist on ten points.

Sophomore Page Gustofson (So. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) had 11 assists to pace the Lyons.  

After taking the first set, the visitors jumped out to a 16-6 lead in set two, thanks to serving runs by Robyn D'Agostino (Three Bridges, N.J.) and Wilson, who had a game-high four service aces on the night.

The hosts led for much of the third game, opening up a 15-11 advantage, only to have Wheaton storm back with to tie the game at 20. The Mustangs got the next two points on Wheaton errors, but Wheaton tied the game at 24 and got kills from Lindsay Tebbetts (Gilmanton, N.H.) and Elise Waelder (San Diego, Calif.) to seal the victory.

Waelder had six kills and two service aces while leading the Lyons with 12 digs. Casey Hess (Pickerington, Ohio) pitched in five kills and D'Agostino dug out nine balls.

For the Mustangs, Kelcey Koolman (Bedford, N.H.) had seven digs and one of three service aces.

Mount Ida will be on the road this weekend when they participate in the Johnson & Wales Invitational in Providence, R.I. Their four-match stint will begin on Friday afternoon at 4:00 pm when they meet Keene State.

Wheaton will be just steps away, as they will start their Johnson & Wales Invitational at 6:00 pm against Amherst, before they take on Keene State at 8:00 pm Friday.

The Mustangs and Lyons will actually meet again this Saturday afternoon in each team's final games of the weekend tournament.