Blue Volleyball Tops Me.-Presque Isle, Falls to Host Lions at ENC Invitational

QUINCY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball split a pair of matches on day two of the Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) Invitational at the Lahue Athletic Center. The Blue defeated Me.-Presque Isle (UMPI), 3-1, in the opening match and dropped a 3-1 final to the host Lions in its second match.

The Blue finished the ENC Invitational with a 1-2 overall record. Senior TylerBell Smith (Frisco, Texas) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, totaling 17 kills, six aces and three total blocks in Wellesley's three matches.

Wellesley 3, Me.-Presque Isle 1

Wellesley earned its first victory of the season with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-14) win over Me.-Presque Isle (UMPI). The Blue dropped the first set but rallied to win the next three behind a 13 kill and 13 dig double-double from first year Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.). 

Sophomore Jennifer Yu (Shanghai, China) added 11 kills for Wellesley, who also got a match-high 15 digs and four service aces from junior Kate Salembier (Sierra Madre, Calif.). Wellesley had four players in double digits on defense, with Kara Jenkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) chipping in 14 digs and setter Mikayla Tansil (Warren, Mich.) adding 11 digs to go along with 41 assists.

Senior Makayla Miskiewicz (Orlando, Fla.) totaled seven kills and 10 digs to lead UMPI (0-3 overall). Sophomore Alexis Engel (Cheyenne, Wy.) finished with a match-high 17 digs in the setback for the Owls, who also got 11 digs from sophomore Kylee Blazick (Harvey's Lake, Pa.) and 10 digs from junior Alondra Lopez-Aguino (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Leading 23-19 in the first set, Wellesley let the lead slip away when UMPI rallied for six straight points to take the opening set 25-23. However, the Blue bounced back to take the next three sets, eventually closing out the match when a kill by Smith gave Wellesley a 25-14 fourth set victory.

Eastern Nazarene 3, Wellesley 1

Eastern Nazarene earned a 3-1 (25-10, 25-19, 19-25, 25-12) victory over the Blue in the final game of the tournament. Kunze-Hoeg once again paced the Blue, totaling 11 kills and 13 digs.

Eliana Baran (Beaumont, Calif.) was the match leader in kills with 12 on 27 attempts (.333) for the Lions (3-0 overall). Maria Clarabuch (Sant Cugat Del Valles, Spain) added eight kills for ENC, as nine different players in all recorded at least one kill for the tournament hosts. Amya Altman (Butler, Pa.) had 13 digs for the Lions and Telma Zelaya (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) paced the offense with 25 assists.

Smith added nine kills for Wellesley and finished with a team-best .389 attack percentage on 18 attempts. Tansil dished out 24 more assists and collected 11 digs. Jenkins chipped in with 10 digs in the setback. 

ENC cruised to a 25-10 win in the opening set before holding on for a 25-19 victory in the second. Wellesley raced to a 9-1 lead in the third set en route to a 25-19 win that narrowed the ENC advantage. However, the Lions roared back in the fourth set, never trailing as they closed out the match with a 25-12 win.

Wellesley will host Norwich in its 2022 home opener on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM.