BOSTON, Mass. - Senior Jules Augustine (Skaneateles, N.Y.) put up 10 kills and hit for .600 to help get the Emerson women's volleyball back on track with a 3-0 NEWMAC sweep over Smith on Tuesday night at Brown & Plofker Gym.
With the win, Emerson moves to 11-6 and 2-3 in NEWMAC play as Smith slips to 2-11 and 0-6 against NEWMAC opponents.
With a mere one error on 29 swings and four kills each from sophomore Fara Cohen (Morristown, N.J.) and Augustine, the Lions earned themselves the 25-15 opening frame win. Smith grabbed the early 5-1 lead, but Emerson fired back and evened the score at 5-all on an attack error committed by the Pioneers. The Pioneers picked up two points before the Lions evened the score at 7-all and grabbed its first lead of the set.
A 5-1 Emerson run that included kills from a trio of Lions gave them the five point lead at 14-9. Smith kept themselves within reach of Emerson and never feel behind more than five until another 5-1 Lions streak put the score at 19-12. Four straight points by Emerson was capped off with a kill by Augustine to seal the first set win.
Through the early stages of the second frame, the two teams kept the score differential within no more than two until Emerson began to pull away on a 4-0 run that put the Lions up six at 12-6. The Lions ran into some defensive trouble and saw its six point lead diminish as the Pioneers came within two at 12-10 on a Lions ball handling mishap.
Smith remained on the heels of Emerson and never fell behind more than four before the Lions went up seven at 21-15. The Pioneers tallied three more points thanks to two Lions service errors and a kill by freshman Kimani Freeman (Newark, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy) (Newark, N.J.), but the Lions closed out the 25-18 win with a kill by freshman Lily Marella (Portland, Ore.).
Much like the first two sets, Smith never let Emerson get too comfortable with a lead. Emerson gained a 6-2 lead to begin the third frame, but Smith managed to find their way back into the match. The Pioneers chipped away at the Lions 13-7 lead and pushed their way within one at 14-13 on three kills by junior Elizabeth Peay (Lebanon, Conn./Lyman Memorial) (Lebanon, Conn.). Kills from Cohen, Augustine and freshman Bella Edwards (Palisades, Calif.) put the Lions back up by four at 20-16.
The Lions were just four points away from taking the final set, but Smith were not going away quietly as Freeman's kill put the Pioneers within one at 20-19. Smith threatened to take its first lead of the match as and stormed back as three kills from Peay squared the set at 24-all. The Pioneers surge came little too late for an attack error allowed Emerson the 26-24 win and 3-0 sweep.
Augustine led the Lions with a team-high 10 kills on 25 swings and had two blocks. Edwards was a kill shy of a double-double with nine and racked up 11 digs, while junior Sam Harton (Cartersville, Ga.) registered 10 digs and two aces. Sophomore Moira Brennan (Glenview, Ill.) had 32 helpers and three aces. Marella had three blocks and Cohen recorded nine kills, seven digs, ace and a block.
Peay paced Smith with 12 kills and registered one block, while Freeman racked up nine kills and two aces. Sophomore Maca Rojas (Santiago, Chile/Liceo No. 1 Javiera Carrera) (Santiago, Chile) had 30 helpers, three aces and 10 digs, while senior Julie Voorhes (Ramona, Calif./Ramona) (Ramona, Calif.) racked up 16 digs.
On Saturday, Emerson heads to Simmons for a tri-match against Simmons and Plymouth at 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Smith returns home for a two game home stand and will host Daniel Webster on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
(Recap courtesy to Emerson Athletics)
