WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball dropped a non-conference match to Gordon College, 3-1, by scores of 14-25, 25-14, 25-21 and 25-16 Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

Junior Evie Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) led Wellesley (4-4) with 13 kills and 10 digs. First-year Natalie Dabrowski (Chicago, Ill.) was next with eight kills. Senior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) tallied seven kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) recorded five kills, 22 assists and six digs. Junior Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) came away with a match-high 17 digs. 

Gordon (8-3) sophomore Haley Hutzler (Long Island, N.Y.) led all players with an impressive 21 kills on .432 hitting to go with 14 digs and three aces. Junior Annie Zimmerman (Austin, Texas) registered nine kills, eight digs and three aces. Senior Maria Clarabuch (Sant Cugat Del Valles, Spain) had nine kills, while junior Teagan Brideweser (Warwick, N.Y.) chipped in with seven. Junior setter Annika Schmitt (Quincy, Mass.) ran the attack with 39 assists and 10 digs. Junior Amanda Pierce (Johnston, R.I.) picked up a team best 16 digs. 

Wellesley began the action with an 8-3 lead behind a pair of kills each from sophomore Sarah Jin (San Jose, Calif.), Dabrowski and Hill. The home team later took its largest lead of the set at 19-8 before Gordon put together a little run to cut the deficit to 20-13. The teams exchanged the next two points before the Blue scored the final four points to take the set 25-14. Hill had four kills to lead a Wellesley side that hit .545 with 13 kills, while Brideweser led Gordon with four kills. 

The early stages of the second set went back and forth and featured 10 ties including at 12-12. Gordon then took control with efficient hitting to finish the set on a 13-2 run and even the match. Gordon tallied 12 kills on .345 hitting with Hutzler recording five and Zimmerman and Clarabuch chipping in with three apiece. Kaija Kunze-Hoeg led Wellesley with three kills. 

The visitors carried the momentum into the third set and recorded seven kills on their first 10 attempts to help build a 10-3 advantage. Gordon held a comfortable lead until Wellesley closed the gap at 13-10. The Fighting Scots then used a 10-4 run to create separation. Wellesley didn't go quietly as strong serving by junior Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.), including a pair of aces, brought the Blue to within 23-21. Hutzler then recorded a kill and an ace to lift Gordon to the 25-21 win. Hutzler had seven kills in the frame, while Hill added four for Wellesley.

Gordon kept the pressure on to begin the fourth and raced out to an 11-5 margin. The Blue scored the next two points to pull within four, but that would be as close as they would get for the remainder of the set. Clarabuch and Hutzler each posted five kills in the set to help the Fighting Scots win 25-16 and take the match 3-1. 

Wellesley will next compete at Roger Williams University with a 1:00 PM start time on Saturday, September 20. Gordon plays a road match at Salem State University on Thursday, September 18 at 6:00 PM.