Coast Guard Earns Win Over Blue Volleyball, 3-1

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Coast Guard picked up a 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-18) NEWMAC victory over Wellesley College volleyball on Tuesday at Roland Hall.

Senior Sophia Galdamez (Cardiff by Sea, Calif.) and junior Shannon Shaw (Torrance, Calif.) each had double-digit kills for the Bears (13-4 Overall, 3-2 NEWMAC). Junior Kaela France (Ellicott, Colo.) had a team-high 20 digs and senior Maeve Duffin (Hawthorne, N.J.) registered 20 assists.

First year Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) had a double-double for the Blue (8-6 Overall, 2-3 NEWMAC) with 16 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore libero Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) earned 23 digs and first year Madeline Zornek (Orlando, Fla.) had a match-high 27 assists, as well as 18 digs.

The teams started off going point-for-point until a seven-point run put the Bears up 14-7. Coast Guard didn't let the Blue back within four points in a 25-20 opening set.

The Bears led 11-4 in the second set but Wellesley brought itself back into the set, cutting the deficit to one at 21-20. Coast Guard was able to capitalize on a late service error to finish a 25-22 set.

The third set was even throughout. The Bears had a match point at 24-23 but Giang recorded a kill to keep the Blue alive. Wellesley won the next two points to force a fourth set.

Coast Guard pulled ahead in the latter stages of the fourth set, building a five point lead at 20-15 and closing out the match with back-to-back kills from sophomore Allie Wildsmith (Bainbridge Island, Wash.).

Next up, Wellesley returns home to host MIT at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, October 10 while Coast Guard travels to Brandeis on Thursday, October 5 for a 6:00 PM non-conference match.