Coast Guard Takes 3-1 NEWMAC Win Over Blue Volleyball

WELLESLEY, Mass. – The U.S. Coast Guard Academy used a 5-0 run to close out the fourth set and take a 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 28-26, 25-20) New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference victory over Wellesley College volleyball on Tuesday evening at Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Court at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

The Bears are now 19-8 overall in 2015, while Wellesley drops to 14-13. The squads now sport identical 5-4 records in NEWMAC play and, for the moment, share fifth place in the conference standings with one game to play. 

Junior Susan West (Jacksonville Beach, Fla) led the Bears with 12 kills and four service aces. Sophomore Summer Adams (Gig Harbor, Wash.) added nine kills and senior Ashley Dumont (Silver Spring, Md.) chipped in seven. Sophomore Michelle McGill (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) led all players with 16 digs, while senior Maggie Hine (Richmond, Va.) tallied 30 assists in the win.

Wellesley first year Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) topped the Blue with 15 kills and seven blocks. Junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) chalked up a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs. First years Elise Griffin (Los Altos, Calif.) and Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) recorded eight and seven kills, respectively. Sophomore Alina Mota (Glendora, Calif.) led the Blue with 14 digs, while Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wash.) picked up 10 digs and seven aces. First year setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) distributed 38 assists in the loss.

The Bears locked up a resounding 25-13 win the opening set, hitting .333 and taking leads of 12-6 and 20-12 en route to the win. Wellesley led just twice in the opening set, briefly taking leads of 4-3 and 5-4 before Coast Guard opened up their advantage. 

The second set was a different story for the Blue, as Wellesley combined for 16 kills on 30 attempts while hitting a match-best .400 as a team. The Blue swept aside an early 2-0 lead from the Bears with a 6-0 run to start the set, as Peng made the count 6-2 in favor of the Blue with an early kill. Wellesley never trailed for the remainder of the set, as Coast Guard managed to only tie the game, at 8-8, following an ace from West. The Blue would go on to take their biggest advantage at 21-14, following a kill from Fieldman. The Bears briefly closed the gap to 22-18 but the set would eventually end, following a Coast Guard error, at 25-19.

Wellesley failed to capitalize on their momentum in the third set, letting an early 9-5 lead slip as the Bears used a 4-0 run to tie the game at 9-9. No more than three points separated the sides until the Bears took a 21-17 advantage late in the frame. However, this time it was Coast Guard that would let the lead slip. A Wellesley error made the Coast Guard lead 22-17 before the Blue got back on the board on a kill from Griffin. Wellesley went on to score seven of the next nine points in the match, tying the game at 24-all when Reece hammered down a kill. The Blue got within a point of taking their second set win when a Fieldman kill made it 26-25, but a pair of Wellesley miscues and a kill from sophomore Emma Saunders (LaGrange, Ill.) sent the Bears to a 28-26 victory.

A similar store line unfolded in the final set, with the Blue again taking a early lead, 4-1, before Coast Guard closed the gap and ran out to a 10-6 advantage of their own. Wellesley responded again before coming up short for the second set in-a-row. The Blue battled back to tie the set at 18-all, staying with the Bears as the score increased to 20-20. Coast Guard then ended the match with a 5-0 surge, as Dumont and Adams closed out the win with back-to-back kills.  

Both squads wrap up the regular season on Saturday, October 31, at 1:00 PM, when Coast Guard hosts MIT and Wellesley plays at Springfield.