Li Records 2,000th Career Assist in 3-1 Wellesley Volleyball Win at WPI
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellesley (7-3, 4-0 NEWMAC) | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
WPI (4-8, 1-3 NEWMAC) | 18 | 25 | 16 | 20 | 1 |
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Junior setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) recorded her 2,000th career assist on the match-clinching point as Wellesley College volleyball defeated WPI, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20), in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday at Harrington Auditorium.
Wellesley is off to a 4-0 start in the NEWMAC and has won five matches in-a-row to improve to 7-3 overall. WPI slides to 4-8 overall and 1-3 in conference.
Li finished with a match-high 33 assists, pacing a Blue attack that got 16 kills from first year Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) and 13 kills from junior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.). Junior Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, CA) chipped in on defense with 24 digs, while sophomore Meghan Shoop (Cypress, CA) added 15 and Li added eight.
WPI first year Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, N.H.) and junior Casey Hunt (Granby, CT) led the Engineers with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. Junior Victoria Nassar (Salem, N.H.) came up with 16 digs and senior Ann Kaczowka (Seekonk, MA) totaled 10. Junior setter Azita Bakhtyari (Andover, Mass.) finished with 31 helpers for the Engineers.
The Blue broke an 11-all tie in the first, breaking away to take a 17-12 lead following a WPI error. Wellesley then closed out the set, 25-18, on a Gedney kill. WPI rallied in the second set, countering with a 25-21 victory to tie the match. With the score tied 1-1, the Blue put together their best performance of the afternoon in the third frame, hitting .200 while holding WPI to .000 attacking to cruise to a 25-16 set win.
Wellesley ended the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth game. With the teams tied 12-12, the Blue scored eight of the next ten points in the frame to take a 20-14 advantage. WPI rallied within two on a pair of occasions late in the set, but Wellesley closed out the victory when Li set-up first year Molly Likes (Oklahoma City, Okla.) for the kill.
Both teams host NEWMAC matches at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 26. Wellesley will host Smith and WPI will host Mount Holyoke. Both matches are set for 7:00 PM.