Volleyball Storms Back to Top Ithaca, 3-2, on Opening Night of Wellesley Invitational

WELLESLEY, Mass. – First Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) hammered down a career-high 26 kills to lead Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-2 (20-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-21, 15-8) come from behind victory over Ithaca College on the opening night of the Wellesley Invitational on Friday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. In the evening's other contest, SUNY Oneonta defeated Nazareth College by a 3-1 count.

Wellesley 3, Ithaca 1

Reece hit an astounding .407 on a match-high 54 attempts to help Wellesley improve to 10-10 on the year, while dropping the visiting Bombers to 20-3 on the season. 

Wellesley first year setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) also had a career night for the Blue, registering a double-double with a match and career-high 48 assists and 11 digs. Li was one of four Wellesley players to finish with double digit digs, as sophomore Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y.) also had 11 and first year Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) and junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) tied for match-high honors with 22. Fieldman also added eight kills for the Blue

Sophomore Joelle Goldstein (Kings Park, N.Y.) led the way for the Bombers, recording a double-double with 15 kills and 13 digs. First year Katie Evans (Westerville, Ohio) added 13 kills while sophomore Caroline Gerulskis (Southborough, Mass.) chipped in with 10 kills for Ithaca. On defense, senior Dylan Gawinski-Stern racked up a team-best 18 digs, while Kayla Gromen (Lancaster, Pa.) and Kyle Dandrea (Sandy Hook, Conn.) added 11 and 10, respectively. Gromen also recorded 43 assists in the match. 

The Bombers stormed out to a 2-0 advantage in the match, taking the first set 25-20 before outlasting the Blue for a 28-26 win in the second game. Wellesley then rallied for back-to-back 25-21 wins in the third and fourth set to send the game into a winner-take-all fifth set. Wellesley jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the final game before closing out the 15-8 win to earn their third five-set win of the year, 3-2.

SUNY Oneonta 3, Nazareth 1

Oneonta State used a balanced offense to hold off a scrappy Nazareth squad for a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-13, 25-16) on the opening night of the Wellesley Invitational. Oneonta improves to 13-8 on the season. Nazareth drops to 14-13. 

Paige Carpluk (Yaphank, N.Y.) led the Red Dragons to the win with 10 kills, 10 digs, and three aces. Jill Darpino (Endicott, N.Y.) added eight kills and two aces, while Erika Corbin (Kirkwood, N.Y.) and Kristen Polan (Westhampton, N.Y.) chipped in six kills a piece. Karly Greco (East Patchogue, N.Y.) led the squad in digs, while Erin Avery (Harpursville, N.Y.) and Greco combined for 21 assists in the win.

For Nazareth, Cady Messmer (Albion, N.Y.) led all players in points with 16 kills and six aces to go along with 11 digs. Kelsey Milligan (Pavilion, N.Y.) added six kills and two blocks, while Jennifer Hicks (Greenville, N.Y.) recorded four kills for the Golden Flyers. Maureen Thayer (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) distributed 28 assists and topped the team with 12 digs on the night.

Play continues tomorrow, October 17, at 10:00 AM in the Wellesley Invitational.