Blue Volleyball Sweeps UMass-Boston

BOSTON, Mass. -- Led by Sydney Carfagno's match-high 13 kills and a combined .258 hitting percentage the regionally Wellesley College volleyball team downed UMass-Boston, 3-0 on Thursday evening at the Clark Athletic Gym.

The win lifts the Blue to 17-2 overall, while the Beacons dip below .500, going to 8-9.

In game one, the two teams battled back and forth through the early going, with neither team taking control. In total the two squads were tied on the scoreboard nine times, but the decision would ultimately fall to the Blue as they earned a 26-24 win. In the second and third games, Wellesley used early runs to gain some distance on the scoreboard.  A 6-0 run to start the second would be all Wellesley needed to earn the 25-15 victory. 

The third game saw another early run by the Blue, but the Beacons did manage to erase that lead and eventually tied the contest a total of four times with the lead switching hands twice.  Unfortunately a late push by Wellesley secured a 25-20 decision and the non-conference win over UMB.

Wellesley entered Thursday's match ranked fourth in New England in the top-35 in all of Division III women's volleyball. Carfagno's night saw the All-American hitter score her 13 kills on 29 attempts. She also managed seven digs and a solo block and block assist. 

Finishing second in kills for the Blue was Caitlin Laughlin with eight.  She also led the match with an impressive .500 hitting percentage. Setters Hilary Ayers and Maddie Koh combined for 31 assists respectively. Ayers also had two of the team's four service aces and managed a pair of digs.

Defensively for Wellesley, Traci Hamanaka tied the match-high with 13 digs. Kellyn O'Brady also helped the back row as she finished with eight digs. At the net Wellesley combined for one solo block and 10 block assists. Brooke Fieldman led her team with three block assists, while Carfagno recorded the team's only solo stop.

For the Beacons, junior Kirsten Morrison and first-year Patsy Boland each recorded a match-high nine kills, with Morrison hitting a team-best .412. Julia Murphy finished third one the team with seven kills. 

Senior Megan Pollock took over as the Beacons go-to setter for Thursday's match and finished with 21 assists, four short of tying her season best.  Libero Elizabeth Glavan recorded a match-high three aces and 13 digs to lead the Beacons backline.  Corrine Porter finished second with six digs. Combined the Beacons recorded four team blocks with Murphy scoring two block assists and one solo stop.  Morrison also finished with a pair of block assists as well.

Wellesley has a rare off-weekend and will return to action on Tuesday in a key NEWMAC battle at MIT on Tuesday night. UMass-Boston also returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to the University of Southern Maine for a 7 p.m. Little East Conference match.