Wellesley Falls to Roger Williams in Five-Set Match

BRISTOL, R.I. – Roger Williams came out on top of a five-game thriller, defeating the visiting Wellesley College volleyball team in five sets on Saturday morning. The Hawks topped the Blue using set scores of 25-12, 19-25, 20-25, 25-18, and 15-12. The win lifts Roger Williams to 7-4 overall, while Wellesley falls to 7-3.

RWU came out strong, hitting .478 as a team in the first set with 14 kills on 23 to take a decisive victory. The match was close early on, with the hosts holding an early 11-8 lead. From that point on, the Hawks took control, going on a 14-4 run to close out the set. Josalyn Benson and Kristen Boyer each had four-point serving runs during the surge.

Wellesley found its rhythm in the second, hitting .270 to outpace the Hawks, who recorded seven hitting errors and hit .119. The Blue opened a 10-4 edge using three early kills from Caitlin Laughlin and two from Courtney Lang. Roger Williams pulled to within two points at 15-13, but Wellesley was able to close out the set

The third set featured 11 ties, as the teams found themselves knotted at 17-17 late. Wellesley then rattled off five straight points with Maddie Koh on the service line to make it 22-17. RWU added three late points, but the Blue held on for the 25-20 victory, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

Roger Williams tied the match at 2-2 with a win in the fourth set. The Hawks hit .343 to Wellesley's .156, opening an early lead and not relinquishing it, en route to the 25-18 win.

In the fifth and deciding set, Wellesley looked to be in control early on. The Blue held an 8-4 lead and then stretched it to 10-5, backed by three kills from Sydney Carfagno. Two more scoring swings from Carfagno pushed the Blue to a 12-7 edge, but Roger Williams scored the next eight points to win the set and the match. Sarah McAniff was on the line for the Hawks during the final stretch, while Kristen Boyer had a pair of kills late in the set.

Wellesley's Carfagno recorded 19 kills and 22 digs for a double-double, while Brooke Fieldman also had a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs. Laughlin had 12 kills and only two errors in the match, while Lang added eight kills in the loss. Taylor Jais added 18 digs and Koh had 43 assists in the loss.

For Roger Williams, four players tallied double-digits in kills, while McAniff and Boyer each tallying 13. Brittany McMullen added 11 kills and Andrea Gorman had 10 in the win. McAniff rounded out her line with 17 digs and four aces, while Boyer also had a double-double, adding 16 digs. Josalyn Benson ran the RWU offense, recording 43 assists.

Wellesley returns to the court on Tuesday, taking on NEWMAC-rival Wheaton at home at 7:00pm. Roger Williams also plays a conference match next, traveling to Curry for a Thursday match.