Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- After seeing a two-set advantage disappear, Wellesley College led from the start of the 5th set and secured a 3-2 women's volleyball result (26-24, 25-13, 21-25, 19-25, 15-7) versus the University of New England at Coach Beaudry's Court inside the Harold Alfond Forum on Saturday (Sep. 21).

Doing a little bit of everything for Wellesley (5-1) was Kate Giang, who came in leading Division III with 4.93 kills/set. On top of 27 kills and a .318 hitting percentage, she collected 17 digs and served up a team-best four aces. Evelyn Hill and Ella Mancuso each contributed 11 winners in the offensive system, which was guided by the 30 assists from Else Kunze-Hoeg and 23 out of Noelle Winn.

In the back row for the Blue, Kaija Kunze-Hoeg racked up 39 digs, including 13 in the opening stanza. Hill joined Giang with a double-double, picking up 14 more digs.

The Nor'easters (9-2) were paced by 14 kills and 14 digs from Ellijah Hanley. Hayley Shult made her first start at setter and tossed up 33 assists to go with 17 digs. The attack received support from Hannah Nowell, Kailyn Reilly, and Viktoria Pavlyuk, who notched 10, eight, and seven kills, respectively. Reilly posted a team-high .300 hitting rate.

Addie Miller dropped in a match-best five service aces for UNE, and Kendall Gallaugher had a hand in half of the squad's eight blocks. Kelsey Bradshaw logged 24 digs to lead the defensive unit, and Mina Regnery tacked on 10 more.

The 1st set featured big shifts in momentum throughout. After Wellesley took a 5-0 edge, the Nor'easters were ahead at 6-5 and 9-6. A 7-1 stretch by the Blue flipped it the other way (14-11), only to see UNE answer in kind and assume an 18-15 cushion. Four miscues by the hosts aided Wellesley taking six of the ensuing seven to reach set-point (24-21), and, while the Nor'easters managed to tie things at 24-all, the visitors found the next two points to seal it. The team combined for 101 swings in the session.

Giang had nine kills in the 2nd, including five during a 12-0 run that took Wellesley from a one-point margin to a 21-8 advantage. The Blue attacked at a .310 clip in the set.

The visiting squad held a 13-11 lead in the 3rd before two kills by Nowell and two aces from Miller fueled a 5-0 spurt, and UNE did not relinquish that edge (16-13). The difference remain within three, though, until a rejection by Nowell got the Nor'easters on the overall board. 

A 9-2 span in the middle of the 4th went a long way to UNE getting back level, as the hosts grabbed a 16-12 edge and basically maintained that spread for the rest of the period. Reilly went 4-for-4 on attacks, helping the Nor'easters to their most efficient set (.433).

However, the comeback ran out of steam in the 5th, as the visitors limited UNE to -.042 on offense. Wellesley tallied the first three points of the deciding frame, and then netted six straight to go up 10-3.

The Nor'easters open up Conference of New England (CNE) play on Wednesday against Endicott College. First serve from the Forum will be shortly after 7 p.m.