Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--The Smith College volleyball team fell to regionally ranked Wellesley College in a pulsating 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 16-25, 27-25, 10-15) New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) match on Tuesday night. Smith is now 16-7, with a 4-4 NEWMAC record, while Wellesley is 24-2, with an 8-0 NEWMAC mark.
Smith was led by 19 kills from
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth), while
Paige Sarlandt (Cloverdale, Calif./Cloverdale) chipped in 12 kills, a pair of service aces, and three solo blocks.
Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) and
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) paced the offense with 19 assists, with Smith having 10 kills and 13 digs. Wellesley was led by Sydney Carfagno's 23 kills, 24 digs, and three service aces. Traci Hamanaka had 28 digs for the Blue, while Caitlin Laughlin had 17 kills. Maddie Koh topped Wellesley with 46 assists.
After the teams traded wins in the first two sets, Wellesley raced out to a 9-4 lead in the third on a kill by Megan Mills. Following a Smith timeout, the Pioneers went on a 9-4 run fueled by four Wellesley attack errors and a kill from Drummond that tied the set at 13. Wellesley closed out the set by scoring 12 of the final 15 points, as Mills and Kellyn O'Brady recorded kills for the final score.
Smith roared back with a fourth set win. Neither team led by more than three throughout, with Smith taking a 18-15 lead on a kill by
Kristi Hammond (Yona, Guam/St. Johns School). Wellesley got within 19-18 at Sydney Carfagno, and took a 22-21 lead on a Smith attacking error. After Smith took the lead back at 23-22, another Carfagno kill tied the score at 23. The teams continued to trade points, sending the set into extra points before Smith sealed away the win thanks to a Wellesley service error and
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress)'s kill.
In the decisive fifth set, Wellesley jumped out to a 10-3 lead behind kills from Carfagno and O'Brady.
Bridget Goodwin (Roswell, Ga./Centennial)'s kill and a service ace by
Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) helped get Smith within 10-6, only to see the trio of Carfagno, O'Brady, and Laughlin record kills that put the Blue up 13-6.
Smith got kills from
Paige Sarlandt (Cloverdale, Calif./Cloverdale) and
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) to get within 13-8, but a Smith serving error put the set at match point, and Carfagno's final kill of the night ended the game.
Both teams will take part in the Volleyball Hall of Fame tournament. Smith faces Trinity on Friday night, and Westfield State and Brandeis on Saturday. Wellesley will play Amherst on Friday, followed by meetings with Bowdoin and Williams on Saturday.
