WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Wellesley College volleyball team handed 18th-ranked Springfield their first loss of the season, as the Blue posted a 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20) win over the Pride in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Wednesday night. 

The win improved Wellesley to 15-6 overall with a 5-1 mark in NEWMAC play. Springfield's season ledger now stands at 21-1, 5-1 in the NEWMAC. 

Wellesley's Megan Mills had a fantastic day for the Blue, hitting .529 with 10 kills, while also picking up three blocks. Sydney Carfagno recorded a team-high 16 kills, while Caitlin Laughlin had seven kills and three blocks. Isabel Custodio paced the offense with 35 assists, while Traci Hamanaka had 22 digs. Rounding out the stat leaders for Wellesley, Amanda Duritsch added six kills and three blocks.

Springfield was led by Lauren Torvi who hammered 16 kills while picking up three blocks. Tessa Smolinski paced the Pride with 12 kills, while Molly Giannattasio dished out 29 assists and added three blocks. Itza Nieves and Meaghan Hart totaled 17 and 14 digs to round out the box score for SC.

Wellesley opened a 7-1 advantage in set one, before the Pride trimmed the lead to 9-7. But Duritsch scored six straight at the service line to break the game open as Wellesley cruised to a 25-15 win.

Set two was a see-saw affair in the early going until Wellesley used two mini-runs to open a 17-14 lead. Springfield tightened the game with a pair of points, but after an exchange of sideouts Wellesley's Carfagno finished the set with three service points to give the Blue a 2-0 lead.

Springfield regrouped for the third set and opened a 12-6 lead at the halfway point. Wellesley responded with four straight, but a six-point run from Springfield's Whitney Miller gave the Pride an 18-11 advantage. The Blue rallied, cutting the lead to 22-20, but Springfield held on for the 25-22 win.

In the fourth and deciding set, Wellesley grabbed an early 8-5 lead. Springfield pulled to within one, at 12-11, but the Blue broke away for good with a four-point run from Hamanaka. The Pride surged in the closing points of the set, but a Springfield hitting error gave Wellesley the 25-20 win.

Wellesley is back in action on Saturday, hosting Bridgewater State in non-conference action beginning at 1:00pm. Springfield next travels to the Clarkson Invitational, taking on the hosts on Friday at 7:00pm.