Wellesley Volleyball Bows Out to MIT in NEWMAC Semis

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top seed and host MIT defeated No. 5 Wellesley College, 25-13, 25-17, 25-23 in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Engineers (27-4) advanced to Sunday's 1:00 p.m. title match and will host No. 2 Babson College, marking the first time both programs will meet in the championship.

MIT senior Jenny Astrachan led all players with 14 kills and added two aces while sophomore Megan Gebhard posted 10 kills and a .320 hitting performance. Junior Meryl Gibbs finished with six kills as senior Nicole Gagnier produced 30 assists and six blocks. Sophomore Tori Wuthrich recorded a match-high 13 digs followed by 12 from first year Clare Farley. First year Alli Davanzo chipped in four blocks and two aces while sophomore Jennie Glerum collected eight digs.

Wellesley senior Sydney Carfagno compiled 10 digs, seven kills, and two blocks for Wellesley. Classmate Caitlin Laughlin notched seven kills and three blocks. Sophomore Brooke Feldman contributed 10 digs and five kills while sophomore Taylor Jais compiled 12 digs in addition to four service aces. Sophomore Maddie Koh finished with 22 assists and six digs for the Blue who end the season with a record of 17-11.

MIT jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first set on back-to-back kills by Astrachan. Wellesley then put together a 5-2 run that moved the score to 15-8. However, the Engineers then outscored the visitors 10-5 to close out the set with Astrachan providing four of the final five points.

The Engineers gradually established an 11-4 advantage in the second set but the Blue battled back, narrowing the gap to 12-9. MIT capitalized on two miscues, a kill from Gebhard and an Astrachan ace before an exchange of points ensued that eventually gave the hosts a 24-16 advantage. An MIT error kept the Blue alive but a kill by Gibbs secured the win 25-17 MIT victory in set two. 

In the final set, MIT built an 8-4 lead but Wellesley responded with 10 unanswered points on strong serving from Jais as the Wellesley sophomore put down all four of her aces in set three. The Engineers slowly chipped away at the deficit as Gagnier and Davanzo teamed up for three blocks while Farley earned an ace which evened the score at 19. 

Both sides traded points until kills from Astrachan and Gebhard put MIT in front, 23-22. The Blue extended the set courtesy of a kill by junior Courtney Lang but Gibbs replied with one of her own to capture match point. A hitting error during the ensuing rally ended the Blue's comeback bid as MIT advanced to tomorrow's championship with a 25-23 victory in set three.