BENNINGTON, Vt. - The Smith College volleyball team knocked off Southern Vermont College, 3-2 (25-13, 25-27, 25-12, 21-25, 15-12), Friday evening at the Mountaineer Athletic Center. The Pioneers move to 3-14 on the year, while SVC drops to 14-3 overall.

NOTABLE

• Sophomores Amy Hagen (Owings, Md./Northern) and Caleigh Johnson (Georgetown, Texas/St. Dominic Savio Catholic) finished with 20 and 19 kills, respectively.
• Junior Kimani Freeman (Newark, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy) totaled a match-best 39 assists.
• Junior Helena Wiatrowski (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) led the defensive effort with 27 assists.
• Junior Iris Afantchao (Windsor, Conn./Windsor) added six blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Smith jumped out to an 8-3 lead off the opening serve, but the Mountaineers stuck with it and climbed back to go on top by one as Ramirez and junior Meg Maddalena started to heat up. Smith would seize the momentum, however, and close out the set on a 15-3 run with Hagen landing three-straight kills during a stretch of seven unanswered points at the end.

Hernandez started the second frame behind the line and tossed up six-straight serves for SVC to grab an early edge, but the Pioneers would chip away and eventually go in front by three as Hagen put down four kills during an 8-1 run. Down 21-17, the Mountaineers fought back to tie it at 23-23, and points were traded until back-to-back SC errors allowed Southern Vermont to take the game.

Johnson had three kills to help Smith build a 13-5 advantage in the third set, and the visitors were able to maintain that separation through the remainder of the stanza. Freeman tallied consecutive aces in a late 9-2 run which put SC back in front for the match.

SVC had its most efficient game of the night in the fourth with only two attacking errors on 40 swings as Higareda assisted on 12 of the Mountaineers' 13 kills. A back-and-forth struggle saw neither side lead by more than three before Southern Vermont ended the set and kept the night going with a 4-1 spurt behind a pair of Maddalena kills.

Johnson had three kills in the front end of the fifth as Smith went ahead 10-2. The Mountaineers came back with a 5-2 run with kills by Ramirez, Hernandez, and junior Abby Landon. SVC then rattled off three straight to force a Smith timeout with kills from Hernandez and Higareda, but Freeman landed one of her own out of the stoppage to make it match point. A Smith serving error and an ace off Hernandez's hand kept the Mountaineers' hopes alive—however Johnson then put down one final kill to end the evening.

UP NEXT
The Pioneers return to conference action and will play at Emerson College on Tuesday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m.