Blue Volleyball Tops Bates 3-2; Falls To Tufts 3-0 at MIT Invite

BEVERLY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball took down Bates College, 3-2 (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-25, 15-10), before falling to Tufts University, 3-0 (25-12, 15-15, 15-17), at Endicott College's MacDonald Gymnasium on day one of the 2016 MIT Invitational. The Blue are now 3-2 overall. 

Wellesley 3, Bates 2

Blue sophomore Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) registered a match-high 20 kills and classmate Alex Kew (Winchester, Mass.) added 10 kills of her own as Wellesley took a five-set victory over Bates. Sophomore setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) paced the offense with a match-high 42 assists and four aces. Sophomore Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) checked in with a team-high 12 digs, while first year Kennedy Ulfig (Saline, Maine) finished one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. Junior Alina Mota (Glendora, Calif.) also finished with double figure digs, collecting 10.  

Nine different players recorded at least one kill for the Bobcats. Senior Chandler McGrath (Seal Beach, Calif.) had a team-high 10, to go along with seven digs, while sophomore Reilly Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) added nine kills and classmate Claire Naughton (Darien, Conn.) put down eight kills. On defense, junior Augy Silver (Manhatten Beach, Calif.) and Gabi Eustache (New York, N.Y.) dueled for match-high honors in digs, with Silver ending the match with a 16-15 advantage over her first year teammate. Junior Jacqueline Forney (Bloomington, Ind.) and first year Julia Panepinto (Buffalo, N.Y.) dished out 22 and 19 assists, respectively.

The Blue dropped the opening set, 25-20, but fought back into the match, hitting .406 as a squad to take a 25-21 victory in the second set. Wellesley extended their advantage in the third set, again winning a closely contested game, this time 25-22. However, the Bobcats clawed their way back into the match in the fourth set, thumping down 13 kills en route to a 25-15 win that tied the match at 2-2. In the end the Blue took the match in the fifth, scoring six of the last seven points in the game to take a 15-10 victory.

Tufts 3, Wellesley 0

Reece once again led the Blue in the second match, slamming down a match-high 11 kills to finish in double figures for the fifth time in as many matches this season. Ulfig added three kills and three aces, but the Blue offense struggled to find a rhythm against the Jumbos, as Wellesley dropped the 3-0 final. Ulfig added eight digs, while Hoang chipped in with 10 and Li added eight of her own. Li also had a team-high 12 assists and three total blocks.

For the Jumbos, first year Christina Nwankpa (Round Rock, Texas) had a team-high 10 kills and four block assist. Classmate Kelly Klimo (North Canton, Ohio) finished with a match-high 16 digs, just ahead of sophomore teammate Angela Yu's (Austin, Texas) 12. Yu finished with a double-double thanks to her match-high 14 assists. First year Rachel Furash (Westlake Village, Calif.) added 13 more assists for the Jumbos, who hit .250 as a team en route to their third-stright victory to open the 2016 season. Senior Mary Maccabee (River Edge, N.J.) also added eight kills for the Jumbos.

Tufts opened the match on a 5-2 run and cruised to a straight-set victory from there. The Jumbos hit .400 in the opening set to take a 25-12 win. They then down the Blue 25-15 in the second set before closing out the win with a 25-17 victory in the third.

The Blue will move to Cambridge, Mass. and MIT's Rockwell Cage for the second day of the tournament tomorrow, Saturday, September 10. Wellesley will open the day at 1:00 PM vs. Colby before wrapping up the weekend at 3:00 PM vs. Redlands.