Blue Rally From First Set Deficit to Down UMass Boston

WELLESLEY, MA -- After dropping the first set of the evening, Wellesley College volleyball stormed back to take the next three sets, defeating visiting UMass-Boston, 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16), in non-conference action on Friday evening at the Keohane Sports Center. The win, Wellesley's fourth in a row, brings the Blue to 11-5 on the season. UMass-Boston drops to 13-4, snapping a twelve-game win streak.

The Blue led the Beacons in every statistical category, with more kills (43-39), blocks (7-3), aces (10-6), digs (51-44), and points (60-48). Caitlin Laughlin led the way at the net, with 10 kills and four blocks. Brooke Fieldman followed closely with nine kills to go along with four blocks and five aces for a career-high 16 points. Sydney Carfagno added eight kills and a match-high 17 digs. Rounding out the box score for the Blue, Courtney Lang recorded seven kills, Lindsey Menichella added six kills and two blocks, and Katie Yan chipped in 10 digs. Maddie Koh dished out 31 assists in the win.

For the Beacons, Blair Boyer led all players with 11 kills while hitting a match-high .435 on the night. Julia Murphy and Kirsten Morrison added seven kills each, while Elizabeth Glavan anchored the Beacon defense with 15 digs. Pepper Baker and Emma Rocha shared setting duties, combining for 27 assists in the loss.

Leading 7-6, UMass-Boston, the top ranked team in the region according to the latest New England Women's Volleyball Coaches Association rankings, used a serving run from Glavan to break open the first set. The Beacons eventually took a 12-6 lead before the Blue got back on the board thanks to a kill from Carfagno. Carfagno's kill then inspired a run from the Blue, as Wellesley closed the gap to 14-13 following a kill from Courtney Lang. However, the Beacons scored the next four points in-a-row thanks to an ace from Julia Murphy and trio of Wellesley errors to take an 18-13 advantage. Wellesley would eventually cut the lead back down to two at 21-19 and again at 22-20, but were never able to overtake the Beacons as they closed out the first set with a 25-22 victory. 

Wellesley scored the first four points in the second set, jumping out to a four-point lead before the Beacons scored the next four to even the game at 4-all. The teams exchanged points before the Blue tacked on three more to jump out to an 8-5 advantage as Laughlin, Carfagno and Lindsey Menichella all put down kills. However, the Beacons would rally again, eventually tying the match at 10-all on a kill from Jodie Munchbach. Wellesley then gained separation from UMass-Boston for the first time on the night, scoring six of the next seven points to take a 16-11 advantage before going on to take the 25-18 victory in set two. 

The teams once once again got out to a 4-all tie in the third set before Wellesley broke the game open, taking leads of 11-7 and eventually 20-13. UMass-Boston rallied to close the deficit to 20-15 , as a kill by Morrison forced a Blue timeout late in the set. Following the timeout, the Blue scored four of the next five points on a kill from Laughlin and and three UMass-Boston errors to take a 24-16 advantage. The Blue would then close out the set, 25-19, thanks to a serving error from the visitors. 

In the fourth set, Wellesley raced out to a five point advantage, holding the margin throughout the early stages of the set. The Blue held leads of 5-0, 10-5 and 17-12 before the Beacons closed the gap to 18-15 on an ace from Taylor Jais. The three point deficit was as close as the Beacons would get in the late stages of the fourth and final set as Feldman put down four of her nine kills, including the final point of the game, to close out the match with a 25-16 set victory. 

The Blue return to action on Tuesday, October 7, when they host NEWMAC rival MIT at 7pm. The Beacons will take the court on Tuesday as well, hosting a 6pm match-up against the University of Southern Maine.