Reece Reaches 1,000 Kills; Hoang 1,000 Digs in Blue Volleyball's Win Over Suffolk

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Senior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) recorded her 1,000th career kill and senior Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) collected her 1,000th career dig as Wellesley College volleyball celebrated the historic night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse with a 3-0 (25-6, 25-13, 25-14) victory over Suffolk University on Friday evening.

Wellesley improves to 2-0 on the season, defeating the Rams (0-1) in their opener in a match that also served as part of the opening night of the MIT Invitational.

Reece finished with eight kills to lead the Blue, who also got a match-high nine kills from first year Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.). Sophomore Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) chipped-in with four kills as the Blue received contributions on offense from nine different players in the match. Hoang and classmate Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) matched for team-high honors with eight digs, while first year setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) dished out 25 assists in her Wellesley debut. 

After leading the Rams with 262 kills as a rookie in 2017, sophomore Hannah Fabiano (Litchfield, N.H.) totaled four to lead Suffolk in their opener. However, the visitors struggled to find a rhythm on attack, finishing with just 14 kills as a squad. Senior Bridget Allison (Westford, Mass.) led all players with 11 digs while libero Dakhensey Marcellus (Brockton, Mass.) added 8 digs.

The Blue were dominant in the opening set, hitting .538 with 14 kills and no errors to take a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-6 win. Suffolk bounced back nicely to open the second set, taking an early 10-9 lead following a Blue error. However, Wellesley scored eight of the next nine points in the match to grab a 17-11 edge and control of the middle set. Wellesley held Suffolk to just two points for the remainder of the frame, closing out the second set, 25-13, on an ace from Hoang. 

Wellesley's senior duo went on to make history in the third set, with Reece recording her 1,000 kill to make the score 8-3 and Hoang following with her 1,000 dig just a few points later. Wellesley never trailed in the third set, closing out the match with a 25-14 win. 

Both squads will be in action tomorrow in Cambridge for day two of the MIT Invitational. The Blue will take on Colby at 10:00 AM and Roger Williams at 2:00 PM. Suffolk will face-off with Morrisville St. at 10:00 AM and Colby at 2:00 PM.