WELLESLEY, Mass. – Junior Susan West had a team-high 12 kills as Coast Guard beat Wellesley 3-1 to clinch a spot in next week's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament.

Coast Guard needed one win in its final two games to qualify for the tournament, which they have advanced to the semifinals of for 14 straight seasons. The Bears have their hands full on Saturday as they host first place MIT in the season finale.

"It was a great team win tonight," said Coast Guard head coach Mike Bynon. "I was very proud of how the girls battled and stayed together in tough situations. We are excited to play a great MIT team Saturday afternoon to finish a great conference run."

The Bears won by game scores of 25-13, 19-25, 28-26, 25-20 to improve to 19-8 overall and 5-4 in the conference while Wellesley drops to 14-13 overall and 5-4 in the NEWMAC.

Sophomore Summer Adams added nine kills in the win. Senior Maggie Hine had a team-high 30 assists while sophomore Michelle McGill led the Bears with 16 digs.

Coast Guard used a 12-2 run in the opening set turning a 5-4 deficit into a 16-7 lead.  The Bears led 18-12 and scored seven of the final eight points for the 25-13 win.

Wellesley jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second set, but the Bears would pull even 8-8. The Blue would score seven of the next ten points taking a 15-11 lead. Wellesley scored three straight to take its largest lead 21-14 and en route to the 25-19 win.

The Blue had an early 9-5 lead in the third set before the Bears tied it at 9. Coast Guard built a three-point lead 16-13. Wellesley cut the lead to 18-17 before Coast Guard ran off four straight for its largest lead of the set 22-17. Wellesley would however score five of the next six to cut the deficit to 23-22.

Coast Guard had set point at 24-23, but a kill by Yasmine Reece tied it at 24. The Bears had another set point, but another kill by Reece tied the score 25-25. Wellesley had its own set point leading  26-25 before the Bears not only fought it off, but scored three straight for the 28-26 win and 2-1 edge.

In the fourth set, the Blue started fast leading 4-1. Coast Guard would use a 9-2 run for a 10-6 lead. The Bears were leading 12-9 and scored five straight for what seemed to be a commanding 17-9 lead. Wellesley however responded with six straight and nine of the next ten to tie it 18-18. With the scored tied 20-20, Coast Guard would score the final five, the final four with senior Emily Gilland serving to complete the win 25-20.

The Bears close out the regular season on Saturday when they host MIT in a NEWMAC game at 1 p.m.