Blue Volleyball Wraps Up Play on Day Two of Brandeis Invitational

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball dropped a pair of matches on Saturday at the 2015 Brandeis Invitational, falling to 1-2 overall on the season. The Blue fell 3-1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-15) to Keene St. in their opening match before dropping a 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-15) decision to Johnson & Wales (RI) in the afternoon.

Junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) earned All-Tournament honors for the Blue, registering a team-high 24 kills and 46 digs in three matches, as Wellesley went 1-2 on the weekend.

Keene St. 3, Wellesley 1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-15)

Fieldman put down a team-high 11 kills and added 15 digs but Keene St. rallied after dropping the first set to take a 3-1 victory. Following Wellesley's 25-21 opening set win, Keene St. responded with a 25-16 win in the second set before closing out the match with back-to-back 25-15 victories in the third and fourth set.

First years Elise Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) and Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) each recorded six kills, respectively, while classmate Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) had a team-high 17 assists for the Blue. In all, five Wellesley players finished with double-digit dig totals, as Peng recorded 13, sophomore Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wa.) and first year Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) each added 11 and sophomore Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y.) had 10.

Johnson & Wales (RI) 3, Wellesley 0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-15) 

In the nightcap, Fieldman again tallied a team-high with 10 kills, finishing as the only Wellesley player in double-figures. Fieldman also added 13 digs, finishing one shy of Yan, who recorded 14 to lead all players. Yan, Fieldman, Koh and first year Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) all added a pair of service aces.

After JWU took a 25-16 lead in the first set, it looked like the Blue might get back on the board in the second set. The second frame extended beyond the 25-point mark but in the end the Wildcats owned the 2-0 lead thanks to a 28-26 victory. JWU went on to close out the sweep with a 25-15 victory in the third set.

Wellesley will return to Brandeis next Friday, September 11, to take on Colby (4:00 PM) and Cabrini (6:00 PM) on day one of the MIT Invitational. The MIT Invitational continues on Saturday, September 12, in Cambridge, with the Blue set to take on Endicott (11:00 AM) and Edgewood (3:00 PM).

Brandeis Invitational All-Tournament Team

Yvette Cho, Brandeis (Fr. - L - San Diego, Calif.)
Lauren Sheehan, Endicott (So. - OH - Bainbridge Island, Wash.)
Kellen Tensen, Johnson & Wales (Sr. - S - New Canaan, Conn.)
Rachel Lamica, Keene State (So. - OH - Malone, N.Y.)
Megan Nilson, Southern Maine (Jr. - S - Granby, Conn.)
Brooke Fieldman, Wellesley (Jr. - OH - Greenwood Village, Colo.)