Wellesley Volleyball Celebrates Senior Day With 3-0 Win Over Endicott

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball celebrated Senior Day with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-19) non-conference victory over visiting Endicott College on Friday evening at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

The Blue extend their winning streak to 12 matches with the win, the longest such streak for the program since the 2013 season, and are now 14-3 on the year. Endicott moves to 12-9 following their second 3-0 setback to the Blue in 2017.

Junior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y) had a match-high 15 kills for the Blue, hitting .464 on 28 attempts. First year Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) chipped in with 13 kills. Junior libero Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) had a match-high with 19 digs and three aces, while classmate Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) dished out 33 assists. Senior Alina Mota (Glendora, Calif.) finished Senior Day with three digs.

Junior Emma Mancini (Lynnfield, Mass.) and senior Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) combined for 21 kills to lead the Gulls, with Mancini registering 11 and Sheehan totaling 10. Sophomore setter Zoey Gifford (Natick, Mass.) finished with 32 assists to pace the Endicott attack, while Mancini, sophomore Mackenzie Kennedy (Andover, Mass.) and senior Cydney Pierce (Carpinteria, Calif.) each finished with six digs in the setback. 

The Blue shook off a slow start in the first set, rallying from an early 5-1 deficit to tie the match 7-7.  Three-straight points turned the match in Wellesley's favor, 10-7,  but Endicott scored four of the next five points to tie the score again, 11-11. A kill from Reece put Wellesley up 12-11, as the Blue took control of the set and carried the lead to the 25-21 final.

Endicott responded in the second set, taking a 16-11 lead following an ace from sophomore Alex Dippel (Fallston, Md.). However, the Blue countered with an 8-1 run to turn a five-point deficit into a 19-17 lead.  Endicott scored back-to-back points to tie the set at 19-19, but a 6-2 Blue run, capped by a kill from Gedney, helped Wellesley take another 25-21 win.

Wellesley stormed to a 13-6 lead to take control of the third set early. The Blue eventually extended their lead to 18-10 and 21-12, before a kill from first year Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) closed out the 3-0 win with a 25-19 set victory.

Wellesley will host No. 15 MIT in a battle of New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) unbeaten teams on Tuesday, October 17, at 7:00 PM. Endicott will host WPI and Tufts in a tri-match tomorrow, Saturday, October 14, beginning at 12:00 PM.