Wellesley Falls 3-0 to Amherst in Hall of Fame Tournament

AMHERST, Mass. --  Junior TylerBell Smith (Washington, D.C.) posted 10 kills as the Blue volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-23) to Amherst College on day one of the Hall of Fame Tournament.

The non-conference loss sets Wellesley back to 7-9 overall, but the team stands at 3-5 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. The Mammoths improve to 12-3 overall.

Nicole Doegres (San Marino, Calif.) recorded a team-high 13 kills to go along with nine digs. Senior Tiffany Shou (San Jose, Calif.) had five kills and four kills in the contest. Izzy Seebold (Concord, N.C.) contributed with a team-high 31 assists.

For Amherst, senior Jamie Dailey (Newport Beach, Calif.) led the way with 15 kills and 14 digs. Sophie Launsbach (Los Angeles, Calif.) also had a solid game with nine kills and a .389 kill percentage. 

The Blue kept set one close early on, after a kill from Smith put the team down just 7-6. The Mammoths then went on a 6-2 run and took a 13-8 lead. Amherst dominated the back end of the set and went on to win 25-17. The Mammoths carried the momentum over into the second set, going up 11-6 over the Blue after an attack error by Seebold. The pressure was too much to handle, as Amherst took control and won the set 25-14.

Aftering falling to a 9-5 deficit in the third set, Wellesley would turn the tide and took a 19-16 lead late in the set off a kill by Doerges. A kill by TylerBell Smith off a set by Seebold would give the Blue a 22-19 advantage and put the Mammoths on its heels. However, Amherst fought right back and scored the games final six points and eventually downed Wellesley 25-23 and came away with a 3-0 win.

Wellesley will pick up the Hall of Fame Tournament tomorrow morning in a match against Hamilton at 10:00 AM Tournament host Amherst College will meet with Westfield State tomorrow at 1:00 PM.