Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) and
Paige Sarlandt (Cloverdale, Calif./Cloverdale) each hit .400 as the Smith College volleyball team swept past Emerson College in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-22) in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) win on Tuesday night. The Pioneers are now 10-4, and 3-3 in the NEWMAC, while Emerson dips to 10-6, and 2-3 in the NEWMAC.
Sarlandt had nine kills, 10 digs, and a solo block, while Drummond had 11 kills and a solo block in the front line for Smith.
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) had eight kills, 10 digs, and a service ace, and
Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) ran the offense, piling up 32 assists.
Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif./Ramona) had 13 digs.
Alyssa Thorne led Emerson with 10 kills, and Julianna Augustine had nine more for the Lions, who were limited to .053 hitting for the match. Juliana Tucker had 28 assists for Emerson.
Smith ran out to an early 9-4 lead in the first set, as Drummond powered down a kill and an Emerson attack error. The Lions pulled within 12-9 on kills from Jessica Hamilton, Thorne, and Augustine, but Smith rattled off four straight points, sparked by kills from
Sonia Brown (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) and
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) for a 16-9 lead. A Smith attack error got Emerson within 21-18, but the Pioneers held on, closing out the set on Drummond's kill.
Set two was neck-and-neck, with neither team going up by more than two until a 6-0 run by Smith, fueled by the serving of
Sonia Brown (Amherst, Mass./Amherst). Brown's ace gave Smith a 15-10 lead and forced an Emerson timeout, after which
Kristi Hammond (Yona, Guam/St. Johns School) put Smith up 16-10 with a kill. Thorne's attacking error gave Smith its biggest lead at 22-12, and Smith closed out the set on a kill from Sarlandt.
It was the Lions who broke open a close third set, turning a 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 lead courtesy of a Brandy Eggerman service ace and a Smith attacking error. Smith came back to tie the set at 15 on two straight Emerson errors, and took the lead for good at 21-20 on
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress)'s kill. Drummond then finished off the Lions, getting three kills around an Emerson error for the final margin.
Smith will host Salve Regina in a non-conference match on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Emerson will take part in the Johnson & Wales Invitational this weekend.
