Box Score SOUTH HADLEY, Mass.--The Smith College volleyball team twice rallied to tie the match, but fell 3-2 to Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday night. The Pioneers fell to the Lyons for the first time since 2001, a stretch of 13 straight matches.
Smith dropped their seventh consecutive match, and fall to 7-14 overall, with a 1-6 record in the NEWMAC, while Mount Holyoke snaps an eight match losing skid, upping their record to 8-12, and 2-5 in NEWAC competition
Sophomore outside hitter Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) paced Smith with 22 kills, 15 digs, four blocks and a pair of service aces. The Pioneers also received a boost from classmate Hayley Bezubka (N. Kingstown, R.I./N. Kingstown), who amassed 17 digs and 14 assists. Senior Courtney Faria (Pocasset, Mass./Bourne) tallied 21 assists, while sophomore libero Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) chipped in with 30 digs.
After splitting the first two sets, Mount Holyoke gained the upper hand with a 25-21 win in the third. The Lyons dropped the fourth set 26-24 and trailed for much of the fifth before rallying back for a 15-10 triumph. First year setter Mollyanne Fitzpatrick served out the match with five consecutive points.
A total of four players recorded double-doubles for the hosts. Kneifel set the tone with 17 kills and 19 digs, while Fitzpatrick added 20 assists and 10 digs. First year setter Alison Chu posted 17 assists and 17 digs. Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Kathryn Brummer racked up 12 kills and 19 digs. The Lyons also received solid production from first year setter Kaleen Iwema and senior middle hitter Tyler Protano-Goodwin, who contributed 27 digs and 10 kills, respectively.
The 20th annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Women's Invitational is slated to take place on the campuses of Mount Holyoke and Smith this weekend. A total of 16 teams will take part in the event, which will include 24 matches on Friday and Saturday. Both squads will be in action on Friday at 5:00 p.m. The Lyons will face off against Gordon College, while the Pioneers will match up with Brandeis University.
(Parts of this story courtesy Mount Holyoke Sports Information)
