Wellesley Volleyball Stays Unbeaten in NEWMAC Play; Tops MIT, 3-1

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Sophomore Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) finished with 20 kills and 13 digs to lead Wellesley College volleyball to a 3-1, (25-23,23-25,25-23,25-23) victory in a match-up of two of the top teams in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Wellesley improves to 9-0 in the NEWMAC, clinching at least a share of the NEWMAC regular season title for the first time since 2013. The Blue are now 20-3 on the season and have extended the nation's fourth longest home court winning streak to 24 consecutive games. MIT is now 20-6 and 6-2 in conference.

Doerges was the Wellesley leader in both kills and digs, finishing the match with a .357 attack percentage, two aces and a pair of block assists. Junior Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) added 14 kills on 35 attempts, while sophomore setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) paced the Blue attack with 44 assists. Junior Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) chipped in with seven kills and 11 digs.

Junior Emily Condon (Orange, Calif.) and sophomore Julia Caravias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) each totaled 10 digs for MIT. Condon hit .529 on the night, finishing with just one error on 17 attempts. Senior libero Madison Lee (Hillsborough, Calif.) totaled 19 digs to lead all players, while first year Emma Suh (Santa Monica, Calif. ) chipped in 10. Junior setter Andie Maloney (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had 43 assists for the Engineers in the setback.

All four sets ended with 25-23 scorelines. The Blue held on to take the first when Doerges put down a kill after MIT held off back-to-back set points to turn a 24-21 deficit into a 24-23 deficit. In a second set that featured nine tie scores, Wellesley broke free late to take a 23-21 lead. However, MIT countered with four straight points to end the set and tie the match at 1-1.

The Engineers built a 5-1 advantage in the opening points of the third set but Wellesley rallied past the visitors late to jump ahead in the match. Trailing 16-14, Wellesley scored five straight points, capped by an ace from Molly Likes (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to take a 19-16 lead. The Blue held the lead for the remainder of the frame to move ahead 2-1.

Wellesley grabbed control of the fourth set midway through the game. Trailing 14-13, the Blue scored five straight points to take an 18-14 lead. Wellesley continued to add-on, as an MIT error eventually gave the hosts a 24-17 lead. MIT held off six straight match points at the end of the fourth set before Gedney put down an emphatic kill to give the Blue the 25-23 win and a 3-1 win in the match.

Wellesley will travel to Babson next Tuesday, October 29, with the top-spot in the NEWMAC on the line. MIT will host Westfield State and Simmons in a non-conference tri-match on Saturday beginning at 11:00 AM.