NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College will co-host the 21st annual Volleyball Hall of Fame Tournament with Mount Holyoke College on October 19-20.  The tournament features 16 of New England's top volleyball squads. The Pioneers (6-14) will face Swarthmore (15-4) on Friday evening, and Westfield State University (7-16) and Brandeis College (14-10) on Saturday.
Last Meeting (Swarthmore):  Smith grabbed a 3-0 (30-21, 30-20, 30-24) win over Swarthmore on October 7, 2006, at the Seven Sisters Championship.

Last Meeting (Westfield State):  Smith notched a 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-23) win over the Owls in the 2011 version of the Hall of Fame tournament.

Last Meeting (Brandeis): The Judges took a 3-0 (16-25, 24-26, 22-25) win over Smith on October 21, 2011, at the Volleyball Hall of Fame tournament.

Last Smith Win (Brandeis): Smith started the season with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-28, 30-19) win over Brandeis on September 9, 2004.

Smith Overview: Smith will be trying to end a seven game losing skid, after a 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 11-25, 16-25) loss to Springfield College in NEWMAC play.  The Pioneers will be playing just their fifth home game of the year in the tournament opener.

Swarthmore Overview: The Garnet have won five of six, including consecutive Centennial Conference road wins over McDaniel and Muhlenberg.  Swarthmore advanced to the ECAC South Championship semifinals a year ago.

Westfield State Overview: Winners of four of five games, Westfield State has qualified for the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons.  Despite a 7-16 record, the Owls are 4-1 in the MASCAC as they look for their fifth MASCAC tournament title.

Brandeis Overview: The Judges have lost three in a row heading into the tournament, falling to Chicago, Emory, and Carnegie Mellon at the University Athletic Association Round Robin II.  Brandeis is 1-1 against NEWMAC opponents this year, beating Babson but falling to Wellesley.

Smith Player to Watch: Blair Bell (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair Kimberly) had 14 kills and hit .303 against Springfield, with three service aces.  She leads the team with 33 service aces.

Swarthmore Player to Watch: Kathryn Montemurro has piled up 211 kills, one of four players with 100 or more kills this season.

Westfield State Player to Watch: Carole Duquette has a team high 16 solo blocks and 43 total blocks.

Brandeis Player to Watch: Yael Einhorn is averaging 8.95 assists per game, with 814 this season.

Did you know? Swarthmore head coach Harleigh Chwastyk played for Smith head coach Fran Vandermeer at Trinity College, and worked with former Smith head coach Bonnie May as a graduate assistant.