MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - For the second-straight match, the Bowdoin College women's volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit, picking up a key NESCAC win at Wesleyan on Friday evening. The Polar Bears (9-5, 3-0 NESCAC) bounced the Cardinals (4-5, 1-2 NESCAC), 20-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-19, 15-11.

Bowdoin was led by 13 kills each from junior Kristin Hanczor and first-year Ellie Brennan. Hanczor also had a team-high six blocks.  Sophomore setter Stephanie Bond racked up 36 assists while  freshman libero Taylor Vail led her squad with 24 digs.  Freshman Luisa LaSalle had a team-best four aces. Wesleyan got a match-high 20 kills from junior Casey Reed and 43 assists from sophomore setter Laura Yim.

Wesleyan had built substantial leads in each of the first two sets and hung on to gain a 2-0 lead in sets.  But with the score 15-15 in the third set, Bowdoin pulled ahead, 22-17, and went on for a 25-20 victory, swinging the momentum in the Polar Bears' favor.  Bowdoin led throughout the fourth set, moving ahead by its largest margin in any set during the evening, 18-10.  Though the Cardinals narrowed the difference to 20-18, Bowdoin scored five of the next six points for the 25-19 victory, evening the match at two sets apiece. 

Bowdoin broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth and deciding set, going ahead 8-4, and eventually led 12-6.  Once again, Wesleyan rallied to tighten the score at 13-11, but the final two points went to the visitors, who defeated Wesleyan for the second year in a row in five sets after ending a 19-match losing streak vs. Wesleyan last year.

On Saturday, Bowdoin takes on both Conn. College and Trinity in NESCAC matches in Middletown.

Photo courtesy of Wesleyan University Sports Information and Steve McLaughlin Photography