Volleyball Can’t Hold Early Edge in 3-1 Loss to Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball took a 25-23 victory in the first set but Springfield College rallied to defeat the Blue, 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-10), in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season finale for both teams on Saturday at Blake Arena. 

Springfield improved to 28-2 with the victory, as the Pride capped the regulars season with a 9-1 mark in NEWMAC play, tying for the top spot in the conference with MIT. Wellesley is now an even 14-14 overall and 5-5 in NEWMAC contests.

Junior Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) and sophomore Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) paced a well-balanced Springfield attack, as each put down 10 kills to lead the Pride to a .320 hitting percentage as a team. Sophomore Rebecca Higgins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and senior Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island , N.Y.) also added nine and eight kills, respectively, while junior Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) had a team-high 21 of the Pride's 43 assists. First year Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif) recorded 16 digs and junior Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) collected 13, while Holt added eight total blocks on defense.

First year Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) hammered down a match-high 20 kills for the Blue, recording 20 kills for the third time in the last four matches. Reece now has 359 kills on the season, ranking her second among all players in the NEWMAC. Fellow first year middle hitter Elise Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) added seven kills for Wellesley, with junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Calif.) chipping in six more. First year setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) dished out a match-best 34 assists, while junior Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wash.) lead the defense with 10 digs.

Wellesley took the upper hand following the first set, as the Blue opened the match with a 25-23 win. No more than two points separated the sides in the opener, until an ace from Koh gave Wellesley a 15-12 edge midway through the frame. The Blue extended their advantage to four points, at 17-13, eventually carrying the four-point lead as the score increased to 19-15. Springfield rattled off three straight points to close the gap to 19-18, before the teams exchanged points until Wellesley had a 23-22 lead. The Blue then closed out the 25-23 set win on back-to-back kills from Reece. 

The Blue built a 12-2 lead in the second set, taking advantage of the Pride's miscues while Reece, Fieldman and Li all registered early kills. A Blue error and a string of three straight kills from Holt would lead to a Wellesley timeout, but the break did little to slow Springfield's momentum. The Pride continued on to add 14 consecutive points, as the hosts used an 18-0 run to take a 20-12 lead. The Pride then went on to take a 25-17 final in the set to tie the match.

The second set comeback spurred Springfield to back-to-back wins in the third and fourth sets. Wellesley battled the hosts throughout the third game, taking a 10-9 advantage before an 8-2 Springfield run shifted the advantage back to the Pride at 21-15. Springfield would go on to close out a 25-18 win in the third game before leading from start to finish to take a commanding 25-10 set win, and the 3-1 match win, in the fourth set.

Both teams will open play in the 2015 NEWMAC Volleyball Championship Tournament on Tuesday night, November 3, at 7:00 PM. Wellesley will play at Clark, while Springfield will host WPI.