WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball came out hot, taking the opening two sets of itsNEWMAC opener with Springfield College, before falling 3-2 (16-25, 19-25, 25-13, 25-17, 15-8) on Tuesday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.

The Pride (11-2 Overall, 1-0 NEWMAC) were aided by a strong defensive performance by junior Olivia Nealy (Athens, Ga.), who snatched up 27 digs. First-year Aubrey Hughes (Liberty Hill, Texas) earned five aces and five blocks while senior Emily Keaveney (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) was the team kills leader with 12. Junior Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) assisted on 36 kills. 

Sophomore Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) supplied both offense and defense for the Blue (5-5 Overall, 0-1 NEWMAC), compiling a game-high 15 kills, 16 assists, nine digs and four blocks. Junior Evie Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) sprinkled in a dozen kills and digs.  Junior Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) had 17 digs and senior Kaija Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) poured in eight kills and 13 digs.

Wellesley came out on a mission, taking six of the first nine points. Up 14-11, the Blue went on a decisive run, winning six out of seven points to put distance between itself and the Pride before closing out a 25-16. E. Kunze-Hoeg, Hill and sophomore Logan Wilson (Woodside, Calif.) all had three kills in the set.

After trailing 5-3 in the second frame, the hosts launched a 5-0 run. Springfield brought the set back within one at 8-7 before the teams began alternating points. Eventually a bad set allowed the Pride to knot it up at 18-18. Wellesley ended the seven by winning seven of the final eight points, with multiple kills from K. Kunze-Hoeg.

Springfield won a convincing 25-13 set that saw the visitors register 15 kills on a .448 hitting percentage.

Up 13-10 in the fourth, the Pride went on a 9-1 swing to put the set out of reach. Springfield ended up with seven aces in a 25-17 fourth period.

The deciding set began 3-3. Multiple kills from Keaveney and Hughes gave the visitors an 8-5 edge as the team switched sides. Springfield came out of the break on a 4-0 run and never let Wellesley back within five. The Pride finished off the comeback on an attack error.

The Blue and the Pride will both host NEWMAC contests at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 27. Wellesley welcomes Wheaton College to Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse and Springfield takes on WPI at Blake Arena.