Wellesley Volleyball Sweeps Brandeis to Close Out Regular Season

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball closed out the regular season with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-15) sweep of Brandeis University in non-conference play on Thursday evening at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

The Blue cap the regular season with an overall record of 19-5 and a perfect 12-0 record on their home floor. Wellesley will host a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) first round match-up when postseason play begins on Tuesday. Brandeis is now 11-15 overall.

Senior Yasmine Reece (New Rochelle, N.Y.) finished with a match-high 13 kills on 23 attempts to lead the Blue. Sophomore Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) and Darina Postupaka (Tinley Park, Ill.) ended the night with 10 kills and nine kills, respectively, as senior setter Michelle Li (Scarsdale, N.Y.) dished out 38 assists to nine different Wellesley attackers. Senior Samantha Hoang (Elk Grove, Calif.) finished in double-figures on defense for 18th time this year, securing 17th digs.

Junior Emma Bartlett (Duxbury, Mass.) totaled eight kills to lead Brandeis, while senior Shea Decker-Jacoby (Los Angeles, Calif.) and sophomore Marissa Borgert (Blaine, Minn.) each chipped in with seven. Borgert and senior Marlee Nork (Chicago, Ill.) combined for 25 assists in the setback. First year Kaitlyn Oh (Santa Clara, Calif.) had 16 digs to lead the Judges on defense.

The Blue broke open a 9-9 tie in the first set with a 10-2 run that was capped by a kill from Reece to make the score 19-11. The Blue rolled through the remainder of the opening frame before clinching the first game, 25-13, following three straight Brandeis errors.

The Judges jumped to a 15-9 lead to start the second set, only to see the Blue erase the deficit and tie the match, 18-18.  Brandeis followed with three straight points to regain the lead, 21-18, but the Blue countered with three of their own, tying the score at 21-all following an ace from Li. The teams exchanged points to run the score to 23-23 before Wellesley took the set on a kill from Postupaka and a Brandeis error.

Wellesley only trailed briefly to start the third set before running to an 11-4 lead. Brandeis get only as close as six for the remainder of the frame, as Wellesley built leads of 15-8 and 20-12 before clinching the match when Postupaka put down the final kill to make the score 25-15. 

Brandeis will host UMass Boston in their final regular season contest on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Wellesley's seeding, opponent, and start time for the 2018 NEWMAC Tournament will be announced following the conclusion of regular season play this weekend.