WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball won a back and forth 3-2 (24-26, 25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 15-11) NEWMAC battle with Coast Guard Academy (12-6 Overall, 2-2 NEWMAC) on Tuesday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

Sophomore Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) led all individuals with 23 kills for the Blue (7-4 Overall, 2-2 NEWMAC). Giang added 21 digs. Sisters Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) and Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) both had 24 digs with Else putting up a season-high 13 kills and 20 assists for a triple-double. Sophomore Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) collected 18 kills and classmate Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) assisted on 27 points. First year Logan Wilson (Woodside, Calif.) controlled the net with five blocks.

NEWMAC digs leader Kaela France (Calhan, Colo.) added 37 digs to the season total for the Bears (12-7 Overall, 2-3 NEWMAC). Senior Shannon Shaw (Torrance, Calif.) and first year Amelia Matson (Stafford, Va.) both put up 16 kills. Sophomore Sophia Rosenberg (Lebanon, Pa.) made  a game-high 47 assists.

Wellesley saved a set point down 24-23 in the first set before kills from sophomore Eloise Shirley (Burke, Va.) and Matson gave the Bears a 1-0 set lead. Both teams had 16 kills in the set, with Coast Guard producing a .212 hitting percentage.

The Blue never trailed in the second set after 4-3, utilizing a late 5-0 run to go up 23-17 and finishing a 25-18 frame on an ace from E. Kunze-Hoeg.

The third set featured 18 Wellesley kills and a notable 8-1 run in the middle of the stanza that made the score 19-13. The set ended with a 5-0 run featuring multiple kills from Hill.

Coast Guard fired back in the fourth, going up 9-3 early. While the Blue cut its deficit to two, a six point stretch spelled trouble for Wellesley, and the Bears finished a 25-18 fourth with a 14th kill of the set.

The two teams traded points early in the decider. The Bears were up 8-5 at the break but the Blue came back in full force, unleashing six points with four kills. A late Coast Guard effort to get to game to 13-11 was thwarted by back-to-back Giang kills to seal the victory.

The teams combined for 119 kills, with 69 going the way of Wellesley. The Blue hit .171 for the match while Coast Guard had a .128 hitting percentage.

Wellesley travels to Smith College for a NEWMAC contest with the Pioneers at 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 12. Coast Guard hosts Springfield College next Tuesday, October 15, at 7:00 PM.