Blue Volleyball Tops Roger Williams, Bates to Sweep Hall of Fame Invite

AMHERST, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball opened with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-13) victory over Roger Williams University before earning a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 30-28) win over Bates College on day two of the 2019 Hall of Fame Invitational on Saturday at Amherst College's Le Frak Gymnasium. Wellesley is now 19-3 overall. 

Wellesley 3, Roger Williams 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-13) 

Junior Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) had 10 kills on 18 attempts to lead Wellesley to a 3-0 rout of Roger Williams (RWU). 

Sophomore Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif) added nine kills and five digs and junior Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) chipped in with six kills and six digs. Sophomore Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) finished with match-highs of 23 assists and seven digs in the win. 

Senior Lara Loiacono (Lynbrook, N.Y.) had nine kills and five assists to lead RWU. The Hawks also got five kills and six digs from sophomore outside hitter Katherine Pickard (St. Petersburg, Fla.), while senior setter Julia Fields (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. ) chipped in with 20 assists, five digs, and a pair of kills. 

Trailing 13-9 in the first set, the Blue used a 14-2 run to storm past the Hawks and take a 23-15 lead. Wellesley closed out the game with a 25-17 victory. The Blue opened the second set on an 8-2 run and never looked back. Wellesley had leads of 10-3, 15-8, and 20-14, before earning the 25-17 win. Wellesley completed the sweep with a 25-13 third set win. The Blue totaled 12 kills on 24 attempts, closing out the match with a .458 attack percentage in the set. 

Wellesley 3, Bates 0 (25-21, 25-13, 30-28)

Junior Lauren Gedney (Huntersville, N.C.) racked up 17 kills and seven total blocks to lead Wellesley College volleyball past Bates in straight sets. 

Junior Nikki Jensen (Castro Valley, Calif.) chipped in 10 kills and six digs for the Blue. Sophomore Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) added five kills and three service aces. First year TylerBell Smith (Frisco, Texas) put down four kills on six attempts for a .667 attack percentage and six block assists as the Blue pushed past the Bobcats. 

Sophomore Sydney Phillips (Plainville, Mass. ) led the Bobcats with 10 kills and three digs. Junior Ruby Lightbourn (Los Angeles, Calif.) contributed seven kills and eight digs. Senior Taylor Stafford-Smith (Calabasas, Calif.) tossed in six kills on 10 attempts for a .500 attack percentage. 

Coming from behind, the Bobcats went on a 5-0 run to take the lead at 8-6. Both teams played point for point before a kill from Gedney sparked a series of attack errors from Bates to seal the first set at 25-21. The Blue controlled the second set early taking the lead at 8-11 and finishing the set 25-13. The third set remained neck and neck until the end as Smith tied it up with a kill 28-28 before the Blue took it home two points later 30-28. The Blue racked up nine service aces and 40 total kills for the win.

Wellesley returns home for a big New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match with MIT on Tuesday, October 22. The Blue (8-0 NEWMAC) will host the Engineers (6-1 NEWMAC) at 7:00 PM.