WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Wellesley College advanced to the semifinals of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Clark University on Tuesday night at Keohane Sports Center. The win lifts the #3-seeded Blue to 18-8 for the year.  #6 Clark finishes its season at 13-12.

In the night's other opening round match, #4 MIT downed #5 WPI, 3-0, to move on.  The Engineers will face #1 Springfield at 1:00pm Saturday at Springfield College, followed by Wellesley vs. #2 Coast Guard at 3:30.  The championship match, also at Springfield, will be at 1:00pm on Sunday.

In tonight's match, neither Wellesley nor Clark could gain control of a hard-fought first set until the Blue scored three straight to take a 17-12 lead.  The Cougars answered with a four-point run, trimming the difference to 17-16, but the hosts pulled away for a 25-20 win.

In the second frame, Wellesley opened an early 10-6 edge, then used two short runs to build a lead and hold on for a 25-17 win.  Clark opened set three with a 5-2 run, but Wellesley rebounded to tie the game at 7-7 before grabbing an 11-8 advantage.  The Cougars pulled to with one, but Wellesley used a six-point streak to break away and cruise to a 25-14 win.

Kristin McGinty and Maritza Fair led Clark with nine and eight kills, respectively.  Fair also recorded 11 digs and two blocks, while Kortney Kelley led all players with 13 digs.  Rachel Spera distributed 24 assists in the loss. 

For the Blue, Elizabeth Campbell led the attack with 11 kills.  Isabel Custodio added 10, while Kellyn O'Brady added nine.  Wellesley was also solid in the backcourt, as Vivian Hu, Allison Li, and O'Brady combined for 31 digs.  Custodio and Victoria Peng shared the setting duties, dishing out 18 and 16 assists, respectively, for the win.