Blue Volleyball Cruises to Sweep of Smith

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball held host Smith College to an .086 hitting percentage en route to a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-22) New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) sweep on Tuesday night at Ainsworth Gymnasium. The Blue improve to 12-11 on the season, grabbing their first NEWMAC win of October to move to 5-3 in conference action. Smith remains winless in NEWMAC contests and drops to 4-18 overall.

First year Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led the way for Wellesley, putting down 11 kills to go along with three blocks and three aces to total a match-high 16 points. Nine different Wellesley players recorded at least one kill in the match, including junior Brooke Fieldman (Greenwood Village, Colo.), six kills, and first year Ashley Peng (San Diego, Calif.), who had five. First year Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) racked up a match-best 14 digs, while classmate Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) had a match-high 27 assists.

First year Macarena Rojas (Maipu, Santiago, Chile) and senior Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif.) combined for 11 kills and 10 assists to pace the host Pioneers. Rojas had six kills and nine assists, while Smith added five kills and 10 assists. Junior Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif.) added 11 digs for Smith.

Leading 9-7 in the first set, Wellesley used a 7-1 run to jump to a 16-8 edge. The Blue continued on to build their advantage, eventually taking a 21-9 lead. Wellesley then held off a late push from Smith, as the Pioneers closed the gap to 24-15, before closing out the 25-15 win on a Pioneer error. 

Smith got out to an early advantage in the second set, taking a 6-2 lead on a kill from sophomore Jenna Rubin (Norfolk, Conn.). The lead only continued to grow for the Pioneers, as they eventually led 12-5 in the second game. Following a Blue timeout, Wellesley responded with an 11-1 run to take a 17-13 lead. Smith managed just two points for the remainder of the frame, as Wellesley closed out a second straight 25-15 win.

Wellesley rallied from another deficit to close out the third game. Trailing 14-8, the Blue ran off eight straight points, eventually taking a 16-14 lead following a kill from Fieldman. Wellesley then closed out a 25-22 win and a 3-0 match victory, as the Blue put down a match-high 13 kills in the third set.

Wellesley will play three games this weekend as part of the New England Challenge Tournament. The Blue will play at Tufts on Friday, October 23, at 7:00 PM before matching up with Williams and Middlebury on Saturday, Ocotber 24, at MIT. Smith will host the annual Hall of Fame Tournament on Friday and Saturday in Northampton.