Blue Volleyball Sweeps Past Visiting Mount Holyoke

Wellesley, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball used aggressive serving and a balanced offense to record a 3-0 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) win over Mount Holyoke College on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The Blue tallied 11 aces while committing just two errors from the line en route to the 25-18, 25-14, 25-11 sweep.

Wellesley advances to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the NEWMAC. The Lyons drop to 2-8 and 0-5 in conference play.

Senior Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wash.) led the Blue's serving attack with four aces, while sophomore Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) tallied three and first year Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) chipped in two. At the net for the Blue, sophomore Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and first year Kennedy Ulfig (Saline, Mich.) hammered eight kills apiece, followed closely by sophomore Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) with seven. Li also captained the Blue attack, distributing 24 assists to seven different hitters, while also leading all players with 11 digs.

First year Joy Maran (Santa Fe, N.M.) led Mount Holyoke's attack with eight kills. She was followed by first year Sasha Simine (Kitchener, Ont.) with six. Simine also recorded three aces and two blocks in the effort. Senior setter Natalie Lyon (Oakton, Va.) dished out 13 assists and picked up 10 digs in the loss.

The squads traded sideouts early in set one, until two kills from Maran gave the Lyons an 11-8 lead. Wellesley rebounded to take a 12-11 advantage before a four-point serving run from Koh gave the Blue a 20-15 cushion. The Lyons capitalized on two Blue errors to stay close, but Wellesley closed out the set, 25-18, on an Ostenso kill.

The Blue opened the second game with an 11-1 run, highlighted by two aces from Shoop and kills from Reece and Ulfig. Wellesley cruised through the middle portion of the game as well, eventually stretching the lead to 24-7. A late charge by the Lyons fell short as Wellesley grabbed a two set lead with the 25-14 win.

After trading points early in game three, Wellesley broke the game open with a 10-1 run, highlighted by four kills from Ulfig, for a 14-5 lead. The hosts kept the pressure on for the remainder of the set, coasting to a 25-11 win.

The Blue return to action Friday, September 30, when they host a 6:00 PM match against regional power UMass Boston. Mount Holyoke will take the court on Saturday, October 1, in a tri-match at Clark, where they will face the hosts at 11:00 AM and Rhode Island College at 1:00 PM.