Gedney, Reece Lead Blue Volleyball To Commanding 3-1 Win Over Springfield

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball hit .300 as a team on the strength of 22 kills from first year Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) and 21 kills from junior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) to defeat Springfield College, 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21), in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

Wellesley has now won eight consecutive matches to improve to 10-3 overall and 6-0 in NEWMAC play.  Springfield has now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season and drops to 10-4 overall and 2-3 in conference.

Reece and Gedney powered a Wellesley attack that put down a season-high 60 kills in just four sets. Junior setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) dished out a career-high 50 assists, as first year Darina Postupaka (Tinley Park, Ill.) also added eight kills for Wellesley. Junior libero Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) and sophomore Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) added 14 and 10 digs, respectively.

Junior Jen Donnelly (Exeter, R.I.) paced the Pride with 18 kills on 38 attempts to finish with a match-high .421 attacking percentage. Donnelly also racked-up eight digs for the visitors. Sophomore libero Anagabrielle Sanchez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) totaled a match-high with 17 digs, while senior Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.), junior Hayley Kmetz (Ardsley, N.Y.), sophomore Katie vonKampen (South Setauket, N.Y.) each finished with six kills, respectively. 

Wellesley opened the first set on a 5-0 run and never looked back, eventually jumping to a lead of 11-1 before Springfield responded to close the gap to 16-14. However, the Blue countered with a 7-1 run, taking a 23-15 lead on a kill from Gedney. A Springfield attack error would later close out the set, 25-18, for the Blue.

The teams played to a 17-17 tie in the second set before Springfield rattled off back-to-back points to take a 19-17 lead. Again, the Blue would counter late in the set, scoring eight of the next nine points, with the only Pride point coming on a Wellesley error, to win the set 25-20. Wellesley finished the second game hitting .452 as a squad. 

The visitors got back into the match in the third game, hitting a match-best .250 to take a 25-22 win. Springfield never trailed, extending a 7-4 lead to 18-12 and eventually 21-16 on a kill from Donnelly. Wellesley closed the gap to two late, trailing 24-22 following a Springfield error, but the Pride put down the final point to win 25-22.

The Blue broke a 9-9 tie in the fourth set, using a 6-1 run to take a 14-10 lead following a kill from Reece. Springfield scored the next point but could not slow the Blue momentum, as Wellesley would go on to lead 20-13 following a kill from Gedney and finish the match 25-21 on a kill from Reece.

Wellesley will travel to Clark for a 7:00 PM NEWMAC match on Tuesday, October 3. Springfield will play at Smith on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.