WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball's (8-8 Overall) comeback fell short as the Bowdoin College (11-7 Overall) Polar Bears escaped with a 3-2 win (25-23, 25-20, 16-25, 15-25, 15-8) in a non-conference match during Friends & Family Weekend on Friday evening at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Sophomore Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) led the Blue with 22 kills to go with a career-high 24 digs. Sophomore Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) tied a career-high with 18 kills on .326 hitting. First-year Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) tallied 28 assists, 20 digs and nine kills. Junior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) picked up 29 digs. First-year Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.) added five kills on .357 hitting and three blocks.  

Bowdoin sophomore Skye LaMendola (Farmers Branch, Texas) led all players with 23 kills on .385 hitting to go with 20 digs. Sophomore Anna Yeh (Monterey, Calif.) contributed 19 digs. First-year Paige Butler (New York, N.Y.) and sophomore Cameron Shelly (Austin, Texas) had 22 assists apiece. 

In the first set, Bowdoin took its first lead since 2-1 at 18-17. The Polar Bears later led 22-20 before Wellesley knotted the score with the next two points. After the teams traded points to make the score 23-23, Bowdoin notched the next two to win the set 25-23. 

Stanza two saw five ties in the early going, including at 7-7. Bowdoin then went on an 8-1 run for a 15-8 advantage. Trailing 17-10 Wellesley rattled off four points in a row with two kills by Giang and one by first year Ella Mancuso (North Andover, Mass.). Bowdoin regained its footing and capped the 25-20 set on a Blue error. 

The Blue battled back in the third, going up 10-4 with a 5-0 stretch. The Polar Bears never got back within five in the 25-16 frame. Wellesley notched 13 kills and a .196 hitting percentage for the set. 

Wellesley continued the comeback in the fourth, utilizing 16 kills and .378 hitting to down Bowdoin 25-15. 

The Polar Bears halted the Blue's momentum by opening the fifth set with five straight points. Bowdoin went to the change up 8-2. The teams traded points through 13-8, when the Polar Bears ended the match with two points, including a service ace from Shelley.

Wellesley recorded 62 total kills, 95 digs and seven blocks for the match.  Bowdoin had 52 kills, eight aces and 91 digs.

The Blue have a quick turnaround, celebrating Senior Day at 11:00 AM tomorrow in a non-conference contest against New England College. The Polar Bears will play a noon match at Smith College tomorrow.