Blue Volleyball Rallies to Top Colby-Sawyer, 3-1

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball shook off a first set loss, taking the final three sets of the match to defeat visiting Colby-Sawyer College, 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21), in a non-conference match on Wednesday night at Gracia Mangano Martore '73 Court. Wellesley snaps a two game skid to improve to 8-9 overall in 2015, while the Chargers slide to 4-18 on the year.

Wellesley first year Yasmine Reece led all players with 17 kills, making just four errors on 39 attempts to hit .333 in the match. Junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.) added a double-double for the Blue, recording 14 kills to go along with 11 digs. First year Elise Griffin (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) tacked on 10 kills for the Blue, hitting .438 on 16 attempts. 

Junior Maddie Koh (Seattle, Wash.) and first year Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) joined Fieldman with double-digit totals on defense, as Koh collected a team-high 14 digs and Li added 11. The duo also combined to dish out 46 assists, with Li recording a match-high 32.

Senior Kelsey McCulley (Southampton, N.Y.) led the Colby-Sawyer attack with a team-high 11 kills. Classmate Laura Somlinski (Hebron, Conn.) added a double-double for the Chargers, as she racked up 22 assists and a match-high 18 digs. Smolinski finished as one of three Colby-Sawyer players with double-digit digs, as junior libero Gabrielle Rodriguez (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and senior Kesley Sullivan (Laconia, N.H.) added 14 and 13, respectively. 

An early 5-1 Wellesley edge in the first set slowly dwindled as the Chargers rallied to tie the game at 10-10. No more than two points separated the sides until Wellesley scored three straight points, thanks to kills from first year Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomore Eryn Halvey (La Verne, Calif.) and a Colby-Sawyer error. The lead was short lived as the Chargers countered to tie the match, 18-18, before running the score to 26-26. The Chargers then capitalized on a pair of Wellesley errors to take the 28-26 win.

The Blue countered with a two-point win in the second set, coming back to earn the victory despite trailing late in the set. With Colby-Sawyer holding a 20-15 lead, Wellesley scored eight of the next two points in the game, taking a 23-22 advantage following a service ace from sophomore Katie Yan (Cohoes, N.Y.). Back-to-back kills from Li and Fieldman then closed out the 25-23 victory. 

Wellesley continued to roll in the third set, getting out to a 17-9 lead en route to the 25-14 victory. The Blue never trailed in the set, holding leads of 15-9 and 20-11 before taking the victory when Griffin hammered down the final kill.

The Chargers and Blue went back and forth to open the fourth and final set, as Wellesley took an 11-9 lead following a kill from Reece. The Wellesley advantage only grew from there, as Reece put down eight of her 17 kills in the last set alone. Wellesley jumped to a 20-11 lead before Colby-Sawyer closed the gap to five, at 23-18. Griffin put down her final kill of the night before three straight Charger points, including two aces from Smolinski, brought the visitors back to within three, at 24-21. However, Reece put an end to the match, emphatically delivering her final kill to give Wellesley the 25-21 win and the 3-1 match victory. 

Wellesley will continue New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in their next match on Tuesday, October 13, at 7:00 PM versus Clark. Colby-Swayer will travel to Endicott for a tournament this weekend, opening play at 6:00 PM on Friday, October 9, at 6:00 PM against the host Gulls.