Wellesley Volleyball Falls 3-0 to Illinois Tech and 3-0 to Tufts on Saturday

MEDFORD, Mass. -- Wellesley College volleyball began with a 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 21-25) loss against Illinois Tech University, followed by a 3-0 (10-25, 12-25, 16-25) loss versus the tournament host Tufts University at the Tufts Invitational on Saturday at Cousens Gym. Wellesley moves to 1-3 overall.

Wellesley 0, Illinois Tech 3 (18-25, 18-25, 21-25) 

Senior Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) had a match high 17 kills in the defeat to Illinois Tech. 

Junior TylerBell Smith (Frisco, Texas) added nine kills on 13 attempts, which was good for a .538 kill percentage. Senior Tiffany Shou (San Jose, Calif.) contributed with five kills and eleven digs. 

Sophomore Briar Moore (Parker, Colo.) totaled 16 kills on 31 attempts and a team high 12 digs to lead the Scarlet Hawks. Illinois Tech also received 15 assists from senior outside hitter Ellie Leach (St. Paul, Minn.), while fellow outside hitter Sadie Harrington ( Denver, Colo.) tacked on seven kills on 14 attempts.

Wellesley struggled out of the gate, quickly going down 10-3 in the first set. The Blue battled back to cut the lead to just 15-13, but Illinois Tech remained poised and took the first set 25-18. Wellesley kept the second set close, until the Scarlet Hawks pulled away late using a 7-2 run. Illinois Tech stayed hot heading into the third, taking a 10-4 lead. The Blue made a late push, making the score 20-16. However after trading points, Illinois Tech held on to win 25-21 and completed the 3-0 sweep.

Wellesley 0, Tufts 3 (10-25, 12-25, 16-25)

Outside hitter Nicole Doerges once again led the Blue 14 kills and tallied 10 digs in the second match.

Senior setter Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) recorded a match high 19 assists to go along with three digs for the Blue. Junior Claire Bialek (Brookline, Mass.) was solid defensively, tallying a match high 21 digs versus Tufts. 

For the Jumbo, Maddie Yu (San Diego, Calif) had 14 assists and just behind her was Ariel Zedric (Peoria, Ill.) with 13 assists. Senior middle hitter Jennifer Ryan (San Francisco, Calif.) led the way with 19 total kills and a .474 kill percentage.

The Blue struggled early, going down 10-3 to Tufts. After a slight comeback to make the score 10-6, the Jumbo distanced themselves from Wellesley and went on to win 25-10 in set one. Wellesley found itself in the exact same spot as the first set, training 10-6 when Tufts went on a 11-0 run to pull away. The Blue quickly trailed 2-0 in the match. The third and final set was much more of a back and forth affair, with the set tied at 13-13. The Jumbo caught fire fast and ended up taking a 23-16 lead that Wellesley could not recover from. Tufts took the final set 25-16 and knocked off the Blue 3-0 in Medford.

Wellesley remains on the road for its first New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match with Babson on Tuesday, September 14. The Blue (1-3) will visit the Beavers (7-0) at 7:00 PM.