Wellesley Downs Emerson in Home Opener

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball used patient floor defense and a balanced attack to sweep NEWMAC newcomer Emerson College (25-19, 25-16, 25-23) on Tuesday night at Keohane Sports Center.  The Blue out-dug the Lions 60 to 43, while five Wellesley hitters tallied five or more kills in the 3-0 victory. The win lifts Wellesley to 9-1 overall and 1-0 in the NEWMAC. Emerson drops to 7-4, 0-1 in conference play.

Emerson grabbed the momentum early in set one, capitalizing on several Wellesley errors to open a 9-4 lead before the Blue battled back to tie the score at 10-10. The teams traded sideouts to 15-15, then Wellesley inched out to a 19-16 advantage with kills from Brooke Fieldman and Kira Jordan. The Lions surged late, on three Alyssa Thorne kills, but Wellesley held on for the 25-19 win.

The Blue carried the momentum into game two, opening an 11-4 with kills from Courtney Lang, Sydney Carfagno, Jordan, and Fieldman. Emerson made a brief charge midway through the set, trimming the lead to 11-17 on a Julianna Augustine kill, but the visitors could pull no closer as Wellesley cruised to a 25-16 win.

Wellesley jumped to 6-1 lead in the third set, but the Lions cut the lead to 8-7 with solid serving from Brandy Eggermann and strong net play from Thorne and Augustine. Midway through the set, Emerson inched out to a 17-15 lead with an ace from Kat Rice and two more kills from Thorne. Wellesley surged back, tying the score at 19-19 on an ace from Maddie Koh. The Blue inched away to a 23-21 advantage and held on for the 25-23 win.

Wellesley was led by Megan Mills, Kellyn O'Brady and Lang, who recorded seven kills each. Mills hit .700, recording her seven kills on just 10 swings without an error, while Lang made just two errors to hit .357. O'Brady rounded out her day with 11 digs and three aces.

Also for the Blue, Fieldman and  Jordan recorded five kills each, while Traci Hamanaka led the team with 17 digs. Koh picked up a double-double with 15 assists and 11 digs, while Hilary Ayers rounded out the offense with 12 assists. 

Emerson's Thorne led the Lions with eight kills, while Augustine added six. Giuli Frendak captained the offense with 21 assists, while defensively, Jamie Morgan recorded 12 digs. 

Wellesley returns to action on Friday and Saturday, traveling to Atlanta, Ga., to take part in the Emory Invitational. The Blue will play Emory & Henry and Covenant on Friday, and then take on Maryville and host Emory on Saturday. Emerson returns to play on Thursday, hosting cross-town rival, Simmons at7:00pm.