Blue Volleyball Sweeps Coast Guard To Remain Unbeaten In NEWMAC Play

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Junior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and first year Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C) combined for 27 of Wellesley College volleyball's 40 kills to lead the Blue to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-15) sweep of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday night at Roland Hall.

Wellesley has now won 11-straight matches and improves to 13-3 overall and 8-0 in conference play. Coast Guard is now 12-7 and 4-4 in NEWMAC play.

Reece, this week's NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week, totaled a match-high with 14 kills on just 24 attempts, hitting .500 for the match to lead all players. Gedney added 13 kills and now has at least 13 in eight-straight contests. Junior Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) each tallied 11 digs, with Li also adding a match-best 30 assists.

Coast Guard got seven kills and 10 digs from sophomore Angelou Dunton (Seattle, Wash.) and six kills from sophomore Alexi Deane (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) but struggled to find a rhythm on offense and hit just .060 in the match. Sophomore Makenna Martin (Granbury, Texas) and first year Veronica Hine (Virgina Beach, Va.) split the setting duties, registering 11 and eight assists, respectively. Senior Michelle McGill (Atlantic Beach, Fla.) led all players with four aces in the match.

Leading by one, 20-19, late in the first set the Blue got kills from Reece and first year Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) and a pair of aces from Darina Postupaka (Tinley Park, Ill.) to take control of the set with a 4-0 run before closing out a 25-21 win.

Coast Guard looked bound to even the match in the second set, taking a 23-19 lead late after holding leads of 20-14 and 14-8 in the set, but the Blue scored the final six points of the set to shock the Bears, 25-23, and take a two-sets to none lead. Wellesley continued to roll in third game building a 12-4 advantage en route to the match clinching 25-15 victory.

Wellesley will host non-conference Endicott College on Friday, October 13, at 4:30 PM as part of Homecoming Weekend. The Blue and Gulls played earlier this season at the MIT Invitational, with Wellesley taking the 3-0 win. Coast Guard will play Montclair St. at the Stevens Ducks Classic on Friday at 4:00 PM.