WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College volleyball won its third match in a row with a 3-1 (25-18, 19-25, 26-24, 25-14) non-conference win versus Eastern Connecticut State University on Friday night at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse.
First-year Delia Noel (Telluride, Colo.) was the big ball striker for the Blue (10-4), putting away 15 kills while securing nine digs. Senior Evie Hill (Rocklin, Calif.) added 14 kills while junior Else Kunze-Hoeg (Eagan, Minn.) registered 38 assists. Senior Caroline Meyer (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the team with 17 digs and classmate Noelle Winn (San Francisco, Calif.) hit double figures. Junior Ella Mancuso (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Brianna Milliken (Newton North, Mass.) patrolled the net, with six block assists each. Â
Libero Emerson Conigliaro (Raleigh, N.C.) had a game-high 22 digs for the Warriors (9-5). First-year setter Lauren Lacy (Simi Valley, Calif.) was the assists leader with 12. Senior Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus, Conn.) had nine kills for Eastern Connecticut.
After an initial exchange of points in the first set, a 6-0 run with kills from four different players put Wellesley up 16-8. The Warriors returned fire with five unanswered. The Blue lead swelled to six by 21-15 and the hosts comfortably finished off a 25-18 frame.
Eastern Connecticut came out on fire in the second, rattling off six consecutive points to start. Wellesley never came back within five. The Warriors limited Wellesley to nine kills, while recording eight of its own.
The third set saw momentum shift throughout. A 6-1 Wellesley edge was whittled down to two at 17-15. The visitors kept themselves within striking distance and a 4-0 swing knotted the set up at 22-22. After the two squads went back-and-forth for two points each, a Noel kill gave Wellesley a 25-24 set point. A block from Jin and Mancuso put the set on ice for the Blue.
The Warriors once again led early in the fourth, up 5-1 initially. Wellesley steadied itself and took the advantage back at 9-8 on a Jin kill. Eastern Connecticut never led again, with Wellesley rolling downhill in the latter stages of a 25-14 closing set.
Wellesley's next match sees the team head to Mount Holyoke College for a non-conference match at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, October 13. It's a quick turnaround for the Warriors, who host Clark University tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
