Statistics

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The University of New England women's volleyball team registered just six points in the opening set and trailed late in the 3rd, just two points from defeat, but came surging back on Wellesley College to claim an improbable 3-2 victory (6-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-12) on Wednesday evening (Sep. 10) at the Towne Fieldhouse.

Winners of three straight, the Nor'easters (4-3) now have three five-set triumphs and a pair of reverse sweeps to their credit on the young season. When the teams met last year, UNE captured sessions three and four but was unable to complete the comeback; the first-ever contest in 2023 was a straight-set result for the Blue.

In the current rally scoring era, UNE had never previously dropped a regulation set by more than 17 points and then proceeded to win the match until Wednesday. Entering the day, only three times had the program scored 10 or less in a set to 25 and ultimately came out on top, and each of those instances were more than a decade ago. [2011: 3-2 win at Colby College after 8-25 in the 2nd; 2014: 3-1 win vs. Newbury College (10/3rd); 2013: 3-1 win at Western New England University (10/2nd)]

Wellesley (3-2) was clicking on all cylinders at the start, hitting .476 to UNE's -.227 during the initial set. The Nor'easters were up 16-15 in the 2nd, only to see the Blue close with a 10-2 stretch to take a commanding overall lead. And, the visitors were up against it in the latter stages of the 3rd, facing a 19-13 deficit.

But then two kills from Ellijah Hanley and two aces by Kelsey Bradshaw sparked a 7-1 spurt that knotted things at 20-all. Still, UNE was down 23-21, before a kill from Hannah Nowell and three Wellesley miscues gave the Nor'easters new life.

The 4th went back and forth, with five lead-changes and the ninth tie at 19-19, until UNE rattled off six in-a-row to pull even in the match. Nowell hammered down three kills in the run.

Both sides held a two-point cushion as the 5th got underway; however, Wellesley logged eight points in a span of 10 to move ahead at 10-6. The Nor'easters were still behind by a couple (11-9) when Nowell terminated another two, and then the fourth hand in a block by both Kendall Gallaugher and Chloe Miracle made it 13-11 in favor of UNE. Kaija Kunze-Hoeg got one kill back for the hosts, but Nowell and Hanley capped the victory with kills assisted by Abby Zamora.

Hanley finished with a double-double of a match-high 16 kills and 11 digs, while Nowell posted 14 and eight. Kailyn Reilly, who had an ace and solo block in the 5th, wound up with 9.5 points. Hayley Shult tossed up 22 assists, and Zamora added 11 more to go with nine digs.

The Nor'easters limited Wellesley to attack percentages of .054, .079, and .053 over the last three periods. Bradshaw led the defensive effort with 15 digs, on top of her team-best four aces, and Lylah Shumway contributed another 11 digs in addition to a trio of service winners.

For the home squad, Kaija Kunze-Hoeg had 13 kills and 23 digs. Sarah Jin notched 11 kills with a .320 hitting clip, and Natalie Dabrowski tacked on 10 more. Else Kunze-Hoeg framed 44 assists, Logan Wilson topped all players with five aces, and Caroline Meyer supplied 17 digs.

UNE will look to continue the positive momentum on Saturday during a tri-match at Westfield State University, which begins with Eastern Connecticut State University at 1 p.m.