Wellesley Tops Colby-Sawyer, Faces Setback to Regis at Roger Williams Invitational

BRISTOL, R.I. – Wellesley College volleyball split a pair of matches at the Roger Williams Invitational on Saturday. After falling 3-0 to Regis in the opening match, the Blue bounced back with a 3-0 win over Colby-Sawyer in the second match.

Sophomore Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) was a defensive standout for the Blue (1-2 Overall) with 37 digs on the day. First year Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) led Wellesley with 15 kills in the two matches while senior Kate Salembier (Sierra Madre, Calif.) had nine kills.

Regis 3, Wellesley 0 

Regis earned a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22) victory over Wellesley, backed by nine kills and 13 digs from junior Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.).

Tenorio's offense, which included four service aces, was critical for the Pride (1-1 Overall). Senior Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) had a match-high 31 assists while first year Emily Hart (Meriden, Conn.) recorded 19 digs.

Kunze-Hoeg led the Blue with 17 digs. Giang contributed five kills and 10 digs for Wellesley and classmate Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) added 15 assists.

Wellesley went up 7-3 in the first set before Regis clawed back to tie the game at 13-13. Neither team led by more than two points for the rest of the set, with the Pride grabbing the final two points of the 25-23 set. 

After trailing 12-11 in the second set, Regis won six consecutive points highlighted by multiple service aces from Tenorio. Wellesley never got back within three points as Regis closed out a 25-18 set. Both teams were tied at 21 in the third set before a pair of late kills from Tenorio sealed the straight-set win for the Pride.

Wellesley 3, Colby-Sawyer 0

Giang had 10 kills and Kunze-Hoeg added 20 digs to help Wellesley earn its first win of the season in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-10, 25-16) sweep of Colby-Sawyer. 

Salembier and first year Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) each earned five kills for the Blue. Winn and first year Madeline Zornek (Orlando, Fla.) both had double-digit assists with 16 and 12 respectively.

Junior Audra Fontes (Fresno, Calif.) was the defensive leader for the Chargers (0-3 Overall) and classmate Brooke Patnode (Weare, N.H.) added 12 assists and 10 digs for Colby-Sawyer.

The Blue opened the match with strong offensive play, registering 13 kills on 41 attacks in the 25-16 first set. An early run saw Wellesley up 9-4 in the second set and the Chargers never got back within three points as the Blue won nine of the final 11 points of the set.

Wellesley took the first seven points of the third set with five kills and two service aces from Kunze-Hoeg. The Blue faced little resistance in a 25-16 third set to complete the 3-0 win.

Wellesley returns home on Wednesday to face Fisher at 7:00 PM at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.