Blue Volleyball Records 51 Kills in Win Over U. of New England, 3-0

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Backed by 22 kills from first year Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.), Wellesley College volleyball won its third consecutive game in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-16) victory against University of New England on Saturday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Giang was impactful both offensively and defensively for the Blue (3-2 Overall). Giang went 22 for 42 on attacks (.429) and grabbed 13 digs. Sophomore Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) had a match-high 18 digs while first year Mary Beeler (Menlo Park, Calif.) had 12 digs. First year Madeline Zornek (Orlando, Fla.) recorded 36 assists while classmate Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) and senior Kate Salembier (Sierra Madre, Calif.) each added nine kills. Wellesley tallied 51 kills as a team over the three sets.

Junior Viktoria Pavlyuk (Westfield, Mass.) paced the Nor'easters (3-2 Overall) with 11 kills. Sophomore Kassidy Bradley (San Antonio, Texas) had 17 assists and junior Addie Miller (Wilmington, Del.) picked up 16 digs.

After winning the first four points of the match, Wellesley never let the Nor'easters back within three points in a 25-16 first set. The Blue registered 19 kills including a kill on set point from Giang.

U. of New England led the second set until 15-15, when Wellesley turned the tide with multiple service aces from first year Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.). Giang again closed out the set with a kill. After a back and forth early portion of the third set, the Blue pulled away from UNE and never trailed after 10-10. Giang made it a trifecta of set-ending kills to polish off Wellesley's third win in as many matches.

Wellesley travels to New England College in Henniker, N.H. next Thursday for a 7:00 PM match while the Nor'Easters return home to face Husson at 6:00 PM on Monday.