First year Lauren Gedney and junior Samantha Ostenso helped rally the Blue to a 3-2 win over Amherst (Julia Monaco).
First year Lauren Gedney and junior Samantha Ostenso helped rally the Blue to a 3-2 win over Amherst (Julia Monaco).

Wellesley Volleyball Earns 3-2 Comeback Victory At Amherst

AMHERST, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball bounced back from a first set setback before outlasting host Amherst College, 3-2 (23-25, 25-13, 25-15, 12-25, 15-13), on the opening night of the 26th Annual Hall of Fame Invitational on Friday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.

Wellesley has now won 13 of their last 14 matches to improve to 15-4 overall and are now 4-0 in five-set matches this season. Amherst moves to 12-9 on the season.

Junior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) tied for match-high honors with 18 kills, while first year Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) added 12. Junior setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) finished with seven kills and 38 assists, while classmate Samantha Ostenso chipped in with six kills. Junior Libero Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) collected a match-best 21 digs, while sophomore Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) contributed 12 digs and first year Becca Aristotelidis (San Antonio, Texas) added nine digs.

Senior Marialexa Natsis (Los Angeles, Calif.) had 18 kills to tie for match-high honors. First year Daria Kim-Percy (Los Angeles, Calif.) had 11 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore Emily Kolsky (Pacific Palisades, Calif.) was in double-digits with ten kills. Sophomores Charlotte Durna (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Adelaide Shunk (Corte Madera, Calif.) split the setting duties, finishing with 28 and 18 assists, respectively. On defense, junior Hayes Honea (Redondo Beach, Calif.) had 21 digs, while senior Asha Walker (Los Angeles, Calif.) added 17.

Wellesley fell behind, 18-13, in the first set and never recovered, trailing for the remainder of the game to fall behind in the match, 25-23. The Blue bounced back with a big set two victory, hitting .407 with 13 kills in a lopsided 25-13 victory that tied the match, 1-1.

Amherst took a 15-12 lead in the third set before Wellesley ran off eight-straight points to turn the three-point deficit into a five-point lead at 20-15. The Blue then closed out the set with a kill from Gedney to take a 25-15 victory and a 2-1 lead.

The Mammoths tied the match with a 25-12 victory in the fourth set, hitting .290 with 14 kills in their most complete performance of the night. The hosts established a 7-2 lead early, before ending the game on an 8-1 run to take the 25-12 win.

Amherst wrestled a 3-2 lead away from the Blue in the fifth set, taking leads of 8-4 and 12-9 to get within three-points of the five-set win. However, Wellesley closed out the match by scoring six of the final seven points, as a kill from Reece sealed a 15-13 win in the fifth set and a 3-2 win in the match.

Wellesley continues play at the Hall of Fame Invitational on Saturday, October 21, at 1:00 PM against Hamilton. The Blue will also play Trinity (Conn.) tomorrow at 3:00 PM. The Mammoths will continue tournament play on Saturday with an 11:00 AM match against Coast Guard and a 3:00 PM match against WPI.