Ulfig Leads Blue Volleyball To 3-0 NEWMAC Win Over Smith

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Sparked by a match-high 10 kills from Kennedy Ulfig (Saline, Mich.), Wellesley volleyball overcame a slow start to sweep Smith College on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The Pioneers gave the Blue all sorts of problems in the first two sets (27-25, 25-21) before the hosts sealed the match with a 25-13 third set victory.

The win lifts Wellesley to 12-12 for the season, 5-3 in the New England Women's and Men's Conference. Smith drops to 3-18, 0-8 in conference play.

In addition to Ulfig's 10 kills, Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) hammered nine, while Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) and Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) added five apiece. Peng led the squad with 11 digs, followed by Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) with 10. Li also dished out 24 assists in the win. 

Xela Miller (Grenada Hills, Calif.) led the Pioneer attack with nine kills. Elizabeth Peay (Lebanon, Conn.) added eight kills, and Kimani Freeman (Newark, N.J.) chipped in six. Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif.) and Maca Rojas (Santiago, Chile) anchored the Pioneers' back row with nine digs each, while Rojas also tallied 25 assists in the loss. 

Smith jumped on the Blue early in set one, building a 15-9 lead on kills from Peay and Miller. Wellesley clawed back, eventually tying the game at 20-20 on an Ulfig kill. Smith continued to press ahead and got within one point of taking the set, at 24-22, but the five of the final six points in the opening frame and sealed a 27-25 win on ace from Li.

The Pioneers took a 10-3 lead to open game two, eventually stretching the advantage to 13-5 following a kill from first year Charlotte Strine (New York, N.Y.). However, the Blue again shook off the slow start to rally and tie the match at 16-all following a kill from Reece and an ace from junior Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y.).  The Blue then went on to take the 25-21 win.

Wellesley rolled in the third set, taking a 5-0 lead and never trailing. The Blue built leads of 10-3 and 20-7 before Smith chipped away with a late run to make the score 23-13. Back-to-back kills from Li and Reece ended the match by giving Wellesley a 25-13 third set win.

Wellesley returns to the court tomorrow night, Wednesday, October 19, with a non-conference match at 7:00 PM against Tufts. Smith will host the annual Hall of Fame tournament, beginning on Friday night with a 7:30 PM match versus Hamilton College.