Blue Volleyball Pushes Past UMass Dartmouth 3-1

WELLESLEY, Mass. --  Senior Nicole Doerges (San Marino, Calif.) extended her kills streaks of 20+ to ten consecutive games, as the NCAA DIII leader in kills per set guided the Blue to a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-23) win over UMass Dartmouth inside Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

The Blue have now won five of six games in the month of October, and move to 7-8 overall and remain 3-5 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. UMass Dartmouth falls to 9-10 overall.

Outside hitter led the contest in kills, finishing with 23 and adding 10 digs. Classmate Tiffany Shou (San Jose, Calif.) was solid by the net, posting eight kills and three blocks. After a clutch performance on Tuesday, first year Mia Maxwell (Arlington, Mass.) followed up with a career high seven kills and a .417 kill percentage. Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) was once again exceptional in the passing game, as the setter dished out 43 assists and added two service aces. Libero Claire Bialek (Brookline, Mass.) recorded a team-high 12 digs for the Blue.

First year outside hitter Kate Wade (San Clemente, Calif.) led the Corsairs with an impressive 13 kills and 12 digs. Behind Wade was Devon Laing (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) with eight kills and 10 digs. Setter Zoe Dizenzo (Orange, Conn.) finished the contest with 28 assists and seven digs.

The Blue jumped out of the gate scorching hot, as kills by Doerges, Rachel Xu (Beijing, China) and Alexis Stull (Palo Alto, Calif.) gave the Blue a 9-2 lead. UMass Dartmouth would battle back and cut the set to just two points, but the Blue reapplied the pressure and came away with the opening set 25-23. Wellesley started set two much like the first, after a kill by Shou gave the team a 9-3 lead early on. The Corsairs followed with an 8-1 run and took an 11-10 lead, forcing the Blue to call timeout. The team went back and forth until UMass Dartmouth scored the final three points of the set and tied the match at 1-1. The final three points were scored on a kill by three different Corsairs.

Wellelsey found itself in deep trouble in the third set, trailing 20-13. With the Blue trailing by six late in the set, Bialek took control of the serve. The junior led the Blue to an incredible 8-0 run, including kills from Shou and Doerges, as Wellesley stormed back to win set three 25-23. For the third set of the night, the Blue got out to a quick start this time taking a 12-5 lead. After the Corsairs cut it to a one point set, Wellesley sparked a 5-0 run and gained some breathing room with a 20-14 advantage. The Blue would withstand a late push by UMass Dartmouth to come away with the set 25-23 and win the overall match 3-1.

The Blue will play tomorrow night in day one of the Hall of Fame Tournament against tournament host Amherst College at 6:00 PM. UMass Dartmouth will return to Little East Conference play on Sunday, October 24, on the road at Castleton at 1:00 PM.