Wellesley Outlasts Salve Regina in NEWMAC Thriller, 3-2

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball staved off a late comeback effort from Salve Regina and saved match points to win 3-2 (25-13, 25-22, 21-25, 16-25, 16-14) in a NEWMAC contest on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Senior Kate Salembier (Sierra Madre, Calif.) and first years Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) and Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) all had double-digit kills for Wellesley. Sophomore libero Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) and first year Mary Beeler (Menlo Park, Calif.) combined for 37 digs. First years Madeline Zornek (Orlando, Fla.) and Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) had 47 assists for the Blue (7-2 Overall, 1-0 NEWMAC).

Senior Brighton Solheim (Phoenix, Ariz.) had a match-high 14 kills for the Seahawks (7-3 Overall, 0-1 NEWMAC) while four teammates had at least 10 digs. Junior setter Siena DeCicco (Severna Park, Md.) was the match leader with 37 assists.

Wellesley won a straightforward first set that it never trailed at any point. The Blue used a late set surge in the second to win the last few points of the set on timely kills from Giang and junior Rachel Xu (Beijing, China). 

The Seahawks battled back in the third set. After leading 16-15, Salve Regina won three of the next four points and never let Wellesley back within two points. A key run in the middle of the fourth set allowed Salve Regina to take a 20-9 lead before Wellesley could regroup. The Seahawks ultimately won the set 25-16.

The fifth set saw many momentum swings, with the Seahawks serving for the match at 14-12. Kills from sophomore Kennedy Mayo (Long Branch, N.J.) and Giang tied the game for Wellesley before Xu and Giang gave the Blue the win with two more critical kills.

Up next, the Blue host a NEWMAC contest against Wheaton at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 23 while the Seahawks host Roger Williams in a non-conference game at 6:00 PM on Thursday, September 21.