Blue Volleyball Blanks Wheaton, 3-0

NORTON, Mass. -- Junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) and first year Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) each tallied 11 kills to power Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-0 victory over Wheaton College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday night at Emerson Gymnasium. Winners of back-to-back games for the first time this season, Wellesley improves to 5-6 overall and 2-0 in NEWMAC action. Wheaton drops to 5-9 (0-2 NEWMAC) on the season. 

Fieldman and Reece were the only two Wellesley players to finish in double-figures in kills, while first year Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) helped out the cause by adding six kills. First year Samantha Hoang (Elk Gorve, Calif.) recorded her sixth-straight game with double-digit digs, collecting a team-high 12. Junior setter Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wash.) led the way with 17 assists, while first year Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y) added 13.  

Wheaton was led by a match-high 12 kills from senior Arieanne Creighton (Brookline, N.H.). Creighton recorded a .346 average in the match, making only three errors on 26 attempts. Sophomore Stephanie Martin (Centerville, Mass.) paced the Lyons defense with a match-high 14 digs, while junior Olivia Wilson (Alameda, Calif.) also recorded nine to go along with a match-high 22 assists. 

Little separated the teams through the opening points of the match, as the score was tied on six different occasions before Wellesley went on a late run to capture the first set. With the Blue trailing, 12-16, a Wheaton service error opened the door for the Blue to go on a 7-0 run, as the visitors jumped to a 19-16 lead when Reece delivered back-to-back aces after an error from Creighton. The Lyons crept to within one, thanks to a pair of miscues from the Blue, but with the score at 19-18 the Blue scored six consecutive points to close out the 25-18 win. 

Wellesley continued to roll in the second set, holding the Lyons to just six kills en route to a 25-17 victory. Wellesley combined to put down 11 kills in the set, leading comfortably through the frame. With the Blue ahead 15-10, Wheaton briefly closed the gap to 15-13, rallying thanks to a kill from first year Claire Cansler (Newhall, Calif.) and a couple of Blue errors. However, Wellesley again jumped out ahead, eventually leading 19-14 before increasing their lead to a set-clinching 25-17 advantage, as Ostenso put down the final kill. 

It took extra work for the Blue to close out the 3-0 victory in a third set that saw the score tied 15 times. With the game knotted at 19-all, Ostenso and Reece each put down kills before Wilson countered for the hosts to make it 22-20. Wheaton rallied for two points before the teams exchange the next ten points in the set to run the score to 27-27. The Blue then went on to break the final tie, as a kill by Griffin and an ace by Fieldman earned Wellesley the 29-27 set win and the 3-0 match victory. 

Both teams will continue the NEWMAC regular season later this week. Wellesley will return home to host Babson on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM, while Wheaton will host Mount Holyoke on Saturday at 1:00 PM.