Box Score WELLESLEY, Mass. - In a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference match, Wellesley held on for a five-set victory over the Smith College volleyball team Tuesday night nside Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. The Blue won by set scores (25-23, 24-26, 21-25, 25-18, 15-11). With the victory, the Blue win its fourth game out of five and improve to 3-5 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play and 6-8 overall. Smith slips to 18-7 overall and stand at .500 in the NEWMAC at 4-4. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Abby Sweeney (Spring, Tex./Klein) led the Pioneers with 12 kills and six block assists.
• Just behind her was Fiona Hegarty (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) with 11 kills on a .455 kill percentage.
• Libero Gabby Beckman (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) had 16 digs and setter Nathalie Pak (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) recorded 33 assists.
• As a team, the Pioneers had 19 total blocks compared to just nine for Wellesley. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 - Midway through the opening set, the Blue sparked a 7-3 run, ending with a service ace from Izzy Seebold and took a 18-12 lead. The Pioneers would storm back, ultimately bringing the set to a score of 23-21 and forcing Wellesley to call timeout. Smith would score the next two points to tie the set, but a service error and another service ace by Seebold gave the Blue a 25-23 win.

Set 2 - The second set would begin very back and forth, with a service ace by Tiffany Shou notting everything up at 17-17. Down 23-21 in the set, Smith grinded with a kill by Sarah Dankovich (El Paso, Tex./Coronado) and a few attack errors on the Wellesley side to win set two 26-24.

Set 3 - Smith came out firing in the third set, jumping ahead 10-5 off a service ace by Dankovich. Wellesley looked to get back in the set, but couldn't find the groove until late after a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two. However, it was a case of too little too late, as Olivia Smith (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais) ended set three with a kill, and Smith needed one more set to win the overall match.

Set 4 - The Blue would carry over the late momentum from the previous set, bursting out to an 11-2 lead. Doerges recorded three kills during the run. The Pioneers could never recover from the early deficit and the Blue went on to take set four by a score of 25-18. For the first time in the 2021-22 season, Wellesley was headed to a fifth set.

Set 5 - The fifth and final set began with a point for Smith, followed by three consecutive kills for Doerges. The set would be tied at 10-10, when two kills by Doerges and a service ace by Seebold gave Wellesley a three-point lead. After a timeout, Smith scored a point but the game was put away by a kill from Maxwell and the Blue stood victorious.


UP NEXT
Smith hosts Westfield State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the 2021 Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament. 

(Recap courtesy to Wellesley Athletic Communications)