Meghan Shoop had 10 digs in the Blue victory (Julia Monaco).
Meghan Shoop had 10 digs in the Blue victory (Julia Monaco).

Wellesley Volleyball Sweeps Past Smith To Remain Unbeaten

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- Sophomore Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) totaled 10 kills and junior Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) added 10 digs to lead Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-20) sweep of Smith College in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday evening at Ainsworth Gym.

Wellesley continues the team's unbeaten start to the season, moving to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in conference. The Blue are off to the best start for the program since the 2013 Blue opened the year at 8-0. Head Coach Dorothy Webb is now just two wins shy of 600 in her career. Smith is now 1-12 overall (0-4 NEWMAC).

Gedney was one of eight Wellesley players to record a kill, as first year Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) added seven and senior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) tallied five. Senior Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) added eight digs on defense and classmate Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) had a match-high 28 of Wellesley's 37 assists.

Smith sophomore Caleigh Johnson (Georgetown, Texas) had a team-high 10 kills, while classmates Amy Hagan (Owings, Md.) and Claire Cicchetti (Menlo Park, Calif.) added nine and seven kills, respectively. The trio combined for all but one of the Pioneers' kills in the match. Junior Jody Huang (Cranston, R.I.) had a match-high 16 kills and classmate Kimani Freeman (Newark, N.J.) added 20 assists.

The Blue put together a .409 attack percentage in the first set, opening the match on a 12-3 run. Smith briefly closed the gap to five, at 15-10, but never challenged in a lopsided 25-12 win. Wellesley continued to roll in the second game. The Blue lead would grow to 20-12, following back-to-back aces from sophomore Becca Aristotelidis (San Antonio, Calif.), before they closed out the set, 25-16. Wellesley went on to grab a 19-12 lead in the third game, ending the match on a kill by Gedney that capped a 25-20 win.

The Blue host Tufts tomorrow night at 7:00 PM. Smith will take on Wheaton on Saturday at 12:00 PM.