Wellesley Volleyball Rolls Past Colby, Roger Williams to Take 2nd at MIT Invite

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball rolled to a pair of victories on Saturday at the MIT Invitational. The Blue defeat Colby, 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-22) and Roger Williams, 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18), to finish the tournament in second place with a 3-0 record and improve to 4-0 overall to start the 2018 season. 

Wellesley 3, Colby 0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-22)

Senior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) and first year Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) each tallied 10 kills and senior Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) racked-up 14 digs as the Blue swept past Colby in their first match. Reece was nearly unstoppable against the Mules, hitting .833 on 12 attempts. 

Wellesley hit .442 as a squad against the Mules, with first year setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) orchestrating the attack with 39 assists. Sophomore Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) added nine kills, while senior Samantha Ostenso (Hopkins, Minn.) and sophomore Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) each chipped in with six.

Following a 25-20 victory in the first set, the Blue hit .483 with 16 kills to take a dominant 25-11 win in the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match. Wellesley went on to secure the victory with a 25-22 win in the third set.

Wellesley 3, Roger Williams 1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18)

Jensen racked-up 14 kills as Wellesley recovered after dropping the first set to win three straight sets and down the Hawks. Doerges added nine more kills and three aces in the nightcap, while Reece and Gedney each put down seven kills for the Blue. 

Hoang totaled 16 digs to finish with a team-best 38 over Wellesley's three matches in the tournament. Junior Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) added nine digs to help pace the Blue defense. Both Hoang and Jensen were named to the All-Tournament team thanks to their performances. 

Wellesley countered their first set defeat with a 25-18 win in the second set to tie the match, and the Blue attack only continued to improve throughout the match. After putting down 10 kills in the second set, Wellesley racked-up 13 in a 25-17 set three victory and 14 in a 25-18 match clinching win in the fourth set.

Wellesley returns home to host Emerson in their New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

2018 MIT Invitational

Complete Results (mitathletics.com)

All-Tournament Team

Megyn Merrill, Morrisville State
Elizabeth Cameron, Babson
Abby Bertics, MIT
Nikki Jensen, Wellesley
Samantha Hoang, Wellesley
Hayley Kmetz, Springfield

Tournament MVP: Jen Donnelly, Springfield

Final Standings

1. Springfield (3-0 overall record; 9-1 sets won-lost; +91 point differential)
2. Wellesley (3-0 overall record; 9-1 sets won-lost; +78 point differential)
3. MIT (3-0 overall record; 9-1 sets won-lost; +67 point differential)
4. Babson (3-0 overall record; 9-1 sets won-lost; +44 point differential)
5. Morrisville State (1-2 overall record; 4-6 sets won-lost; -20 point differential)
6. Endicott (1-2 overall reocrd; 4-6 sets won-lost; -27 point differential)
7. Colby (1-2 overall record; 3-6 sets won-lost)
8. Roger Williams (0-3 overall record; 2-9 sets won-lost)
T9. Lasell (0-3 overall record; 0-9 sets won-lost)
     Suffolk (0-3 overall record; 0-9 sets won-lost)