Doerges Carries Blue to a 3-2 Win over Hamilton College

AMHERST, Mass. --  Senior Nicole Doegres (San Marino, Calif.) dominated day two of the Hall of Fame Tournament with a career high 31 kills and led the Blue to a 3-2 (25-15, 25-19, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10) win over Hamilton College at Le Frak Gymnasium.

The victory improves Wellesley's overall record to 8-9 and remain at 3-5 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. With the five set loss, Hamilton drops to 6-11 overall, but remain at 2-6 in the NESCAC.

TylerBell Smith (Washington, D.C.) chipped in with six kills to go along with four digs. Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) once again filled the stat sheet, posting 35 assists, five kills, and five digs. First year Mia Maxwell (Arlington, Mass.) continued to play well with five kills and a block. Libero Claire Bialek (Brookline, Mass.) and senior Tiffany Shou (San Jose, Calif.) each controlled the defensive end with 18 digs a piece.

Hamilton's Kate Carmen (New York, N.Y.) set the offensive tempo with 13 kills. Also in double figures was Deirdre Corrigan (Ramsey, N.J.) with 11 kills and 11 digs. Setter Melissa Morelli (Lynnfield, Mass.) recorded 26 assists to go along with seven digs.

Wellesley quickly opened up with a 4-0 lead in set one, including kills from Doerges and Seebold. The Blue would never surrender the lead and comfortably take the set by a score of 25-15. The second set began much closer with the teams tied at 7-7 and again at 10-10. The Blue went on a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to hold a 19-14 advantage, capped off by a Doerges kill. The teams would battle back and forth, but Wellesley once again came away with the set and went up 2-0 over Hamiton. 

The momentum of the game quickly shifted in the third set as Hamilton kicked its game into another gear. With the squids dueling and the set notched at 22-22, the Continentals scored the final three points and won the set 25-22 off a service ace by Morelli. Hamilton recorded less kills in the set, but made less mistakes with only four attack errors compared to nine for Wellesley. The Continentals would carry the solid play into the fourth set, going ahead 7-2. The Blue would cut it to a one point game after an attack error made it 14-13. However, Hamilton picked up the pace and forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win.

With the Blue headed to a fifth set for the second time this season, senior captain Nicole Doerges took control. She scored nine of the team's 15 points and carried the Blue to take the set 15-10.

The Blue return to NEWMAC play on the road at Clark on Tuesday, October 26, at 7:00 PM. Hamilton will remain in Amherst for a match with the Mammoths on Friday, October 29, at 7:00 PM.