Wellesley Volleyball Downs Springfield, 3-0, in NEWMAC Play

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Junior Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) put down 16 kills on 29 attempts, finishing with a season-high .483 attack percentage, to lead Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Springfield College in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Saturday's match was Wellesley's annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness match in support of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC). The mission of the NOCC is to save lives by fighting tirelessly to prevent and cure ovarian cancer, and to improve the quality of life for survivors. To learn more about the NOCC, or to make a donation, visit www.ovarian.org | #KnowOvarian

The Blue's home court winning-streak now stands at 21 straight matches, while Wellesley improves to 12-3 overall and 6-0 NEWMAC play. Springfield dropped its second straight to move to 12-6 overall and 1-4 in conference.

Gedney's 16 kills were a match-high for the Blue, while sophomore Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) totaled 11 kills and nine digs. Junior Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) rounded out the Blue outside attack with four kills while also adding 12 digs and a pair of aces. Senior Meghan Shoop (Cypress, Calif.) totaled a match-high 17 digs and sophomore setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.H.) had 30 assists, four kills and two aces.

Senior Katie vonKampen (South Setauket, N.Y.) led the way at the net for the Pride, totaling 11 kills and no errors on 19 attempts (.579). Sophomores Demi Spanos (West Harrison, N.Y.) and Ashley Tanner (Manorville, N.Y. ) each chipped in with five kills, while classmates Sara Labadorf (Huntersville, N.C.) and Mackenzie Nunes (The Woodlands, Texas) split the setting duties, combining for 24 assists. Senior libero Anagabrielle Sanchez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) had 16 digs and four assists in the setback.

Wellesley limited Springfield to just eight kills in each of the first two sets, taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-17 first set victory and a 25-18 second set win. A kill from Doerges tied the match 8-8 in the first set and sparked an 8-1 Wellesley run that turned the game in the Blue's favor. Wellesley never trailed in the second set, using a 6-0 run at the end of the frame to close out the 25-18 win. 

The Blue jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third game and eventually had a 15-10 advantage following a kill from Jensen. Springfield rallied for five of the next six points to cut the lead to 16-15, but the Pride couldn't rally past the Blue as Wellesley went on to finish a 25-22 victory on the final kill of the match from Gedney. 

Both teams continue the NEWMAC season on Tuesday, October 8, at 7:00 PM. Wellesley travels to Clark and Springfield heads to Smith.