Blue Volleyball Cruises to Tri-Match Sweep

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College Volleyball swept a pair of matches versus Fairleigh Dickinson and Southern Maine as part of a non-conference tri-match during Saturday's Homecoming festivities at Keohane Sports Center. The Blue cruised to 3-0 victories in the both matches, improving to 13-7 overall. Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU) defeated Southern Maine 3-2 in the middle match of the day. The Devils now stand at 15-17 overall. Southern Maine drops to 15-11.

Match One: Wellesley 3, Farleigh Dickinson 0

Senior Caitlin Laughlin and sophomore Brooke Fieldman tied for match high honors with eight kills as the Blue earned a 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-12) victory in the opening match. Laughlin led all hitters with .583 hitting percentage in the first game. Fieldman also tied classmate Maddie Koh for match-high honors with four service aces, while adding 13 digs. Koh dished out 29 assists and collected 6 digs. Senior Sydney Carfagno collected a match-high 18 digs to pace the Blue defense. Carfagno also added 7 kills.

FDU's Melissa Gaffney had a team-high four kills for the Devils, also tying with Rachel Catena for team-high honors with nine digs.

The Devils were unable to establish a consistent rhythm in the first match, falling behind early in game one while failing to record a kill until the second set. The Blue established a 17-5 lead in the first set of the day and took double-digit advantages in all three sets en route to the 3-0 victory. 

Match Two: Fairleigh Dickinson 3, Southern Maine 2

FDU rebounded to take a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 15-8) victory over Southern Maine in the second match of the day. Gaffney led all players with 21 kills, hitting .231 with 14 digs versus the Huskies. Catena finished with a match-high 32 digs for the Devils. Natalie Knudseon also added 11 kills while DeAnna D'Amico put down 9 kills for FDU.

Southern Maine's Jessica Williamson led all players with 25 kills on a match-leading 70 attempts. No other Southern Maine player finished in double figures as junior Renee Trottier and first year Monica Raymond both put down six kills for the Huskies. Trottier finished with 25 digs , second only to junior Demi Ruder's team-high total of 27. Sophomore Megan Nilson dished out 34 assists for the Huskies, feeding Williamson time and time again throughout the five set match.

The teams exchanged the first four sets as Southern Maine opened with a victory in set one before FDU rallied in set two. The Huskies then took the victory in the third set before FDU again came back to take the next set, this time forcing a deciding fifth game. With the score tied at 8-all in the final set, FDU ran off a seven point run to take the 15-8 final and a 3-2 match victory. 

Match Three: Wellesley 3, Southern Maine 0

The Blue returned to take another commanding 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-19) victory in the final match of the day, this time defeating Southern Maine. Carfagno set the pace for the Blue, putting down 13 kills and hitting .500 in the match. Fieldman collected a match-high 17 digs while again totaling 8 kills for the Blue. Koh added a 33 assist performance, once again tying with Fieldman for match-honors in service aces with four.

Williamson added 11 kills for the Huskies to go along with a team-high 8 digs. Nilson tallied 17 assists and added four digs for the visitors.

The Blue again raced out to a big lead in the opening game, eventually leading 17-7 before closing out the 25-11 victory. In the second set, Wellesley scored 14 of the final 17 points, breaking an 11-all tie to take a 25-14 victory. The Huskies battled late into the third and final set as the score remained deadlocked at 18 before Wellesley was able to gain separation and eventually take a 25-19 victory and a 3-0 match victory.  

The Blue will host Smith College on Tuesday at 7:00 PM in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference matchup.  Fairleigh Dickinson will also play on Tuesday, hosting Delaware Valley College at 7:00 PM. Southern Maine will be at Rhode Island College next weekend; they will play the Anchorwomen in a conference match next Saturday at 1:00 PM.