Worcester, Mass. – Facing a near must-win scenario in order to qualify for the postseason conference tournament, Clark University played like their backs were against the wall, taking an impressive 3-1 decision over Wheaton College in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) volleyball action on Tuesday evening at the Kneller Gymnasium.

Clark University won by scores of 25-13, 25-14, 20-25 and 25-20 to improve to 10-13 on the season and 2-6 in league play, while the Lyons see their record move to 14-12 overall and 4-4 in conference action.

Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M.) was extremely effective for the Cougars, finishing with a match-high 13 kills to go along with nine digs and six service aces, narrowly missing her tenth double-double of the season.

The Scarlet and White hit .230 in the contest, registered 52 digs, ten service aces and seven blocks, while Wheaton hit .086 and recorded 41 digs, six service aces and six blocks.

Wheaton only led once through the first two sets of play by a 3-0 score in the early going of set two. Clark responded with a 9-3 run and never looked back jumping out to a 2-0 lead with a 25-13 victory in first set and a 25-14 triumph in set two.

Lyons responded in set three with 11 kills, six service aces, nine digs and two blocks. Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H.) hammered a team-high four kills to guide the offense and Kendall Jacobs (San Diego, Calif.) also connected on three putaways. Set three featured 12 ties and four lead changes before the Lyons pulled away after an attacking error by Clark giving Wheaton a 19-18 advantage. Down the stretch, the Blue and White received three service aces and one kill each from Jacobs and Taylor Matook (Exeter, R.I.) to force an extra session.

Clark answered in the final set despite six ties and four lead changes with a set-high 14 kills and the Cougars best hitting percentage of the night at .275.

Savannah Sanford (San Anselmo, Calif.) compiled eight kills, one assist and 11 digs. Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif.) dished out a match-high 33 assists and tallied four kills, two service aces and two block assists, while Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) bumped up a match-high 21 digs.

Clark heads to Western Connecticut State University for a tri-match in Danbury, Conn. on Saturday, October 26 versus UMass Boston at 2:00 p.m. and the host Colonials at 4:00 p.m.