For Immediate Release
November 7, 2008
Wellesley Sports Information
Courtesy Springfield Sports Information
Wellesley Advances to NEWMAC Championship with Sweep of MIT
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Wellesley volleyball team advanced to the NEWMAC Championship game with a 3-0 sweep over MIT in the semifinals of the 2008 NEWMAC Tournament. The Blue were 25-19, 25-22, 25-14 winners over the Engineers.
The win pits Wellesley against the Springfield College Pride in the championship game on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm in Springfield College's Blake Arena.
Jessica Duff (Milton, Abingdon, UK) led the way Wellesley with a match-high 16 kills in the game to go along with eight digs. Alice Cummings (Tallahassee, FL) added 13 kills and seven digs for the Blue, while Victoria Peng (Diamond Bar, CA) dished out 37 assists as she directed the Wellesley attack. After struggling in the first game hitting .081, Wellesley regrouped and hit .222 in the second and a sparkling .500 in the third.
For the Engineers, Katrina Ellison finished with a team-best seven kills and 14 digs. Cathy Melnikow handed out 22 assists, while Barden Cleeland notched five kills in in the loss for MIT. MIT managed to just .093 in the contest.
Trailing 6-8 early in the opening stanza, Wellesley rattled off a 6-0 run to take a 12-8 lead after an MIT attack error. The Engineers battled back to bring it within three (22-19) after a Wellesley attack error, but a kill from Duff and Cummings and another MIT error game the second-seeded Blue the first game.
MIT had the lead for the majority of the second game, holding a 21-17 lead after a solo stop from Cleeland. From that point on, Wellesley notched nine of the next 10 points to take the game 25-22. Cummings had a pair of kills, while Duff had a trio, including the game-winner, in the spurt for the Blue.
The Blue were clicking on all cylinders in the third game as MIT had no answer for the Wellesley attack. Fueled by Cummings' eight kills in the third, hitting .727, the Blue cruised to a 25-14 game-three victory. Once again, a late spurt by Wellesley proved to be the difference. With the score tied at 13, Wellesley finished the match on a 12-1 run to complete the three-game sweep.