Wellesley Volleyball Digs Out 3-1 Win Over Coast Guard

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Senior Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Elk.) set a career-high with 30 digs to lead Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-19, 25-18) victory over the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Wellesley improves to 13-2 overall and 6-1 in NEWMAC play with the win. The Blue are now 8-0 on their home floor. Coast Guard drops to 14-7 (3-5 NEWMAC) on the season.

Hoang was one of three Wellesley players in double figures on defense, as first year Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) added 14 digs and junior Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) had 13. Wellesley finished with a team season-high 78 digs in the contest. Doerges recorded her second double-double of the season, adding 14 kills for the Blue. Senior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) put down a team-high 20 kills and sophomore Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) added 18, as senior Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) finished with 51 assists.

Junior Angelou Dunton (Seattle, Wash.) recorded a double-double, totaling 14 kills and 12 digs to lead Coast Guard. Sophomore Veronica Hine (Virginia Beach, Va.) finished with 17 digs to lead the Bears, while first year Amanda Dake (Victor, N.Y.) added 16 digs. Junior Makenna Martin (Granbury, Texas) and first year Nikki Sefcik (Arvado, Col.) split the setting duties and combined for 43 assists, with Sefcik adding 10 digs to record a double-double of her own. 

The Blue and the Bears battled to a 19-all tie in the first set before Wellesley scored four straight points to take a 23-19 advantage. A kill from Bridget Boyle (Dunwoody, Ga.) closed the Coast Guard gap, but a Gedney kill and back-to-back errors from the visitors gave the Blue the 25-21 final. 

The teams played to 11 tie scores in the second set, running past the 25-point plateau when a kill from Gedney knotted the score for the 11th time at 26-26. This time Coast Guard found the late edge, evening the match with a 28-26 victory thanks to back-to-back kills from Dake and Destiny Johnson (Tampa, Fla.).

Wellesley broke free in the third set, opening up a 14-6 lead en route to a 25-19 victory. The six-point deficit at the end of the set was as close as the Bears would get in the late stages. The fourth game saw the teams play to a 15-15 tie before Wellesley used an 8-2 run to take a 23-17 lead. A kill from Johnson snapped the run but Gedney closed out the match, 25-18, with two straight kills.

Wellesley will travel to Wheaton at 8:00 PM Thursday to conclude their halted match from earlier this season. The Blue will then return home for a homecoming tri-match and Senior Day on Saturday at 9:00 AM. The Blue will host Geneseo (9:00 AM) and Plymouth St. (1:00 PM). Coast Guard will travel to No. 4 Johnson & Wales on Saturday at 1:00 PM.