Box Score DANBURY, Conn.--After dropping the first two sets, the Smith College volleyball team stormed back to win the next three en route to a 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-10) win on Wednesday night. The victory gives Smith their best ever start to a season, improving their record to 5-0.
Western Connecticut State dips to 5-2 with the defeat. It was the first meeting between the teams since 2004.
Smith was led by
Kristi Hammond (Yona, Guam/St. Johns School) and senior
Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H./Portsmouth) led a balanced attack with 11 kills each. Senior
Bethany Ashworth (North Falmouth, Mass./Bourne) led the Pioneers with 36 assists, and sophomore
Mei-Li Smith (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) recorded 16 digs.
After dropping the first two games of the match, Smith made some changed to its lineup that helped the Pioneers remain unbeaten on the season. Taking games three and four by identical 25-19 scores, Smith rushed out to a quick 6-1 lead in the fifth set, prompting a Western timeout. The Colonials closed the gap to 10-8, but a hitting error by the Western offense gave the visitors a three-point lead instead of narrowing the margin to a single point. A Drummond kill at match point gave the visitors from Smith College a 15-10 win in game five.
Smith will host a quad match this Saturday, facing Western New England University at noon, and Lasell College at 2 p.m. Western Connecticut State will be at the Trinity Invitational this weekend, beginning with a matchup against Clark University.
(Parts of this story courtesy Western Connecticut State Sports Information)
