Wellesley Volleyball Outlasts Springfield for 3-2 Win on Senior Day

WELLESLEY, Mass. — In a hard-fought, five-set marathon, Wellesley College volleyball downed the Springfield Pride, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 15-9) during Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Keohane Sports Center. The Blue close out their regular season at 16-10 overall and 6-4 in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference. The Pride finish at 20-9 and 7-3 in conference play.

Wellesley's outside hitting was the difference in the match, as Sydney Carfagno hammered 22 kills and Brooke Fieldman pounded 21. The duo also combined for 25 digs, six blocks, and five aces, for a total of 51.5 points.

Also for the Blue, Caitlin Laughlin tallied 12 kills to go along with five blocks, while Courtney Lang recorded eight kills and four blocks. Rounding out the box for Wellesley, Lindsey Menichella added five kills and four blocks, Taylor Jais led the team with 17 digs, and Maddie Koh distributed 56 assists in the win.

Lauren Holt led the Pride with 16 kills and seven blocks, while Kelsey McGayhey accounted for 13 kills and four blocks. Jennifer Hurwitz and Rebecca Higgins added eight kills each, while Elise Brogan chipped in seven. Whitney Miller and Amy Entel anchored the back-row play for Springfield with 19 and 18 digs, respectively. Marnae Mawdsley dished out 48 assists in the loss.

In the first set, Wellesley broke a 6-all tie, building a three point advantage at 9-6, but the Pride rallied to tie the score again at 10-all as Holt and Higgins both put down kills. The Blue took a two-point advantage at 15-13 following a kill from Carfagno, carrying the advantage as the score increased to 18-16. Another kill from Holt and a Wellesley error then knotted the score at 19-all. The teams then exchanged points, running the tie score to 23-all before Mawdsley and Holt combined to block Carfagno on the final two plays of the set to give the Pride the 25-23 victory.

Wellesley responded in the second set, earning a 25-21 victory. The Pride took an early 7-3 advantage as Holt put down three early kills. Carfagno and Fieldman then put down kills on either side of a kill from Higgins before back-to-back Springfield errors and an ace from Jais tied the score at 8-all. From there, Springfield took a 15-11 lead thanks to three Blue errors and a kill from McGayhey. With Wellesley trailing again, Carfagno rallied the Blue with a pair of kills to tie the score at 15-all. A kill from Hurwitz broke up the Wellesley run but the Blue continued on to take a 19-16 advantage, leading for the remainder of the set before closing out the win thanks to kills from Koh and Laughlin and a Springfield error. 

The next two sets featured a familiar score line, as the Blue took a 25-23 victory in game three before the Pride rallied to take a 25-23 win in the fourth game. Wellesley trailed just twice in the third set, at 8-7— but also at 23-21. With the Blue leading throughout the game, Springfield went on a late 4-0 run to cut a 19-14 deficit to just 19-18. The Pride then took the lead after tying the match as kills from Holt and Francesca Mack gave Springfield a 23-21 lead. However, Wellesley closed out the victory by earning the final four points of the game. 

The Pride held the advantage throughout the fourth set, leading until the Blue closed an 18-12 deficit with a 7-1 run to tie the score at 19-all. Wellesley then took a 21-19 lead, earning a late two-point advantage much like the Pride had in the third game. However, this time it was the Pride's turn to rally for the late victory, scoring six of the final eight points to win, 25-23.

In the deciding set, the teams exchanged the opening points before Wellesley broke a 5-all tie with a 6-0 run, taking an 11-5 lead. From there, Fieldman and Carfagno combined to finish off the match, scoring the final three points — capped by a solo block from Carfagno.

The Blue will travel to Wheaton for the first round of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament on Tuesday evening. Fifth-seeded Wellesley will take on the fourth-seeded Lyons at 7:00 PM. The third seeded Pride will host sixth-seeded Coast Guard, also at 7:00 PM on Tuesday.