BIDDEFORD, Maine – Wellesley College volleyball junior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) became the 13th student-athlete in program history to reach 1000 career digs in a non-conference 3-2 (26-24, 25-13, 21-25, 19-25, 15-7) win over University of New England at Harold Alfond Forum on Saturday. In addition to making history with her 1000th career dig, Kunze-Hoeg also set a Blue volleyball (5-1 Overall) single-game record with 39 digs. 

Sophomore Kate Giang (Corte Madera, Calif.) gave Wellesley an offensive boost, dropping 27 kills, eighth most in a single game in program history, with a .318 hitting percentage. First-year Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) recorded 32 assists while sophomore Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) added 23. Classmate Evelyn Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) put together an 11 kill, 14 dig double-double.

First year Hayley Shult (Buffalo, Minn.) tallied a 33 assist, 17 dig stat line for the Nor'Easters (9-2). Junior Ellijah Hanley (Haleiwa, Hawaii) added a 14 kill, 14 dig double-double and classmate Kelsey Bradshaw (San Antonio, Texas) contributed 24 digs.

After the Blue lead 2-0, the Nor'Easters stormed back to take the third and fourth sets and force Wellesley's first tiebreaker of the 2024 season. Wellesley led 4-3 before stringing together six consecutive points. UNE couldn't get the game back within five as a ball handling error gave Wellesley the 15-7 set to close out the win. 

Wellesley opened the match with five unanswered points. U. of New England struck back with 10 of the next 12 points before the two teams were tied up at 10-10. From there, the lead would trade hands multiple times, leading to a 21-21 score. The Blue went up 24-21 before losing three set points. A kill from first year Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.) and a UNE attack error gave Wellesley a 26-24 first set.

After being competitive early, a 13-0 run gave the Blue a commanding 21-8 lead in the second set. Giang closed out the 25-13 set with a kill, the 17th of the set for Wellesley.

The first half of the third set was back and forth, with neither team up by more than one until the Nor'Easters took a 15-13 lead. The Blue got the margin back to one at 22-21 before three straight points from UNE closed out the set.

Early in the fourth, Wellesley went up 5-2. UNE tied the set, and the teams traded points through 12-12. A 7-2 put the Nor'Easters up 19-14. Wellesley never got back within three in the 25-19 set.

Wellesley starts NEWMAC competition at Salve Regina University on Tuesday, September 24 at 7:00 PM. U. of New England hosts Endicott College on Wednesday, September 25 at 7:00 PM.