WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball was edged by Mount Holyoke, 3-2, in NEWMAC action on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The Lyons won by scores of 25-22, 16-25, 25-21, 13-25 and 15-12.
Senior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) filled the stat sheet for Wellesley (7-9 Overall, 2-4 NEWMAC) posting 16 kills, 18 digs and five aces. Junior Evie Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) was next on the team with 10 kills and also picked up 18 digs. Junior Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) recorded a career-high 40 assists to go with 12 digs, four blocks and three aces. Junior Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) came away with a career-high 21 digs. First-year Natalie Dabrowski (Chicago, Ill.) contributed eight digs. Sophomore Logan Wilson (Woodside, Calif.) added six kills, seven digs, four blocks and three aces.
Senior Madeline Barton (Brookfield, Wis.) led all players with 20 kills to go with eight digs for the Lyons (12-7 Overall, 3-3 NEWMAC). Senior Elle Rimando (Mililani, Hawaii) tallied 15 kills, 10 digs and three aces, while sophomore Olivia Murray (Miami, Fla.) also reached double figure kills with 11. Senior Sadie Duffrin (Minneapolis, Minn.) finished the match with 40 assists and 12 digs. Junior Kyra Staples (Chatham, Ill.) recorded a match best 26 digs and five aces.
Wellesley scored the first three points of the opening set and later led 12-9. The Lyons answered with a 6-0 run, which included three aces by Rimando, to take a 15-12 lead. After the Blue evened the score at 15-15, Mount Holyoke used an 8-3 run to go in front 23-18. Wellesley rallied to score the next three points to cut the deficit to 23-21. The teams traded the next two points before a Rimando kill secured the 25-22 win for the Lyons.
The start of the second set had five ties early on, including at 8-8. The Blue then went on a 5-1 run to force a Mount Holyoke timeout at 13-9. The Lyons made a little rally but Wellesley did not relinquish the lead at 15-13. The Blue then created separation with a 7-1 run for a 22-14 advantage. Wellesley closed out the set with a 3-2 spurt with all three points coming via Kunze-Hoeg kills for a 25-16 victory. Wellesley hit .406 with 16 kills in the set.
Trailing 12-9, Wellesley tied the score with three straight points, including the third and fourth aces of the match by Kunze-Hoeg. The teams swapped the next two points for the fifth tie of the frame at 13-13. Murray gave the Lyons a lead with a kill on the next rally, which they would hold for the remainder of the set en route to the 25-21 win. Rimando had six of the Lyons' 15 kills in the third.
Wellesley opened the fourth with four consecutive points, including a pair of double blocks by Wilson and Winn. Back-to-back kills by sophomore Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.) later put the Blue on top 10-5. The home team pulled away for a 21-10 lead thanks to strong play on the attack, the block and the service line. Wellesley evened the match at two sets apiece with a 25-13 victory in the fourth. The Blue recorded five aces, while Kunze-Hoeg added five kills.
Wellesley collected the opening three points of the fifth set finale, but the Lyons raced back to tie it at 4-4. A key run put the Blue ahead 8-6 at the change of ends and then a 3-0 made it 11-6. Mount Holyoke began to mount its comeback, taking four consecutive to cut the deficit to a single point. The visitors won the final five points of the match to complete the five set epic.
Both teams will compete in conference competition on Saturday, October 18. The Blue play at Clark University at 2:00 PM. The Lyons take on Babson College at 1:00 PM inside Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
