Lauren Gedney had 22 of Wellesley's 46 kills in the match (Frank Poulin).
Lauren Gedney had 22 of Wellesley's 46 kills in the match (Frank Poulin).

Gedney Leads Blue Volleyball Past WPI in Five-Set Thriller

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball topped WPI, 3-2 (13-15, 22-25, 25-12, 25-20, 15-10), in a five-set New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)  thriller on Saturday at Harrington Auditorium. 

The Blue improved to 4-0 in conference and 10-3 overall, while the Engineers now sit at 7-5 on the season and 2-2 in NEWMAC play. 

Junior Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) had a match-high with 22 kills on 38 attempts, hitting a season-high .447 average to lead the Blue attack. Gedney, who totaled 22 of the Blue's 46 kills in the match, also added four total blocks. Sophomore setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) added four kills, 35 assists, two aces, and seven digs as the Blue rallied from a two sets to none deficit to win the match. Senior Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) added a match-high 14 digs and junior Becca Aristotelidis (San Antonio, Texas) had five service aces.

Senior Colleen Mullins (Andover, Mass.) put down 13 kills and added six digs to lead WPI. Juniors Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, N.H.) and Sarah Kwatinetz (Seattle, Wash.) each chipped in with 10 kills for the Engineers, who also got 12 digs from junior Kayleigh Campbell (Wilbraham, Mass.). First year setter Catherine Reyonolds (Concord, Mas.) finished the match with 33 assists and 11 digs for WPI. 

WPI hit a match-best .409 as a team in a 25-13 opening set victory. Trailing 9-8, the Engineers used a 9-0 run to seize control of the set with an 18-8 lead. A kill from Suela Miloshi (Needham, Mass.) ended the game, 25-13, in WPI's favor. The Blue rallied in the second set, as the teams played to a 22-all tie before a WPI timeout. The Engineers rallied after the break, scoring the final three points of the set to seize a 25-22 victory and put the Blue on the brink with a 2-0 lead in the match. 

Wellesley countered in a big way in the third set, extending the match to a fourth game with a commanding 25-12 victory. The Blue only trailed briefly at the start of the set before building leads of 10-6 and 20-12. Gedney then put a cap on an 8-0 run to end the set. The fourth set was tightly contested throughout, as the teams played to 11 tie scores, including a 20-20 deadlock. However, the Blue scored the final five points of the set to send the match the deciding fifth game. 

In the fifth, Wellesley jumped to a 6-2 lead only to see WPI rally back and take a 9-8 lead on a Wellesley error. The two sides exchanged points with the scoring running to 10-10 on kills from Wetmore and Seebold. Tied 10-10, the Blue scored the next five points to end the match, as a kill from Gedney sealed a 15-10 fifth set victory.

Both teams continue the NEWMAC season on Tuesday evening, October 1, at 7:00 PM. Wellesley will host Smith and WPI will welcome Mount Holyoke.