NORTON, Mass. -- The Smith College volleyball team fell to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Wheaton, 3-2 (29-31, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 12-15), before defeating Johnson & Wales, 3-0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-20) in a double header hosted by Wheaton on Saturday afternoon. 

The Pioneers shift to 14-8 and 5-2 in conference play while the Wheaton Lyons improve to 11-6 and 3-4 in league action and the Johnson & Wales Wildcats drop to 9-9. 

Highlights vs Wheaton

• The Pioneers began the first set with a 14-9 advantage over the Lyons 
• The two teams continued to exchange points until Wheaton took the lead over Smith at 22-21
• With Smith at set point at 24-22 after a block from Miranda Oaks, Wheaton ramped up the intensity of the set until they claimed the victory 31-29
• Tied at 18-18 in the second set, the Lyons pulled away with a six-point run to pull ahead 24-18 
• A kill by Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) disrupted Wheaton's streak but a final kill from the Lyons' Julia Wingler clinched the second set 25-19
• Tied at 5-5, the Pioneers slowly began to pull away maintaining the edge for the entire frame until they seized the victory 25-18 
• With Smith holding a three-point lead at 13-10, the Pioneers continue to increase the margin until a kill by Abby Hunt (Mandeville, LA/Fontainebleau) secured the fourth set 25-17 for Smith
• Wheaton began the fifth set with a small 3-1 lead until the Pioneers responded with six unanswered points to claim the 7-3 edge    
• The Lyons brought a strong offense to pull ahead of Smith and win the final set 15-12 and the match 3-2
• Abby Hunt (Mandeville, LA/Fontainebleau) led the Pioneer offense with a season-high 18 kills (.244) while Abby Sweeney (Spring, TX/Klein) (.526) recorded 11 kills 
• Ruby Woodward (Winchester, MA/Winchester) tallied 23 assists for Smith while Meg Hopkins (Matthews, NC/Covenant Day School) posted 14 assists
• Ari Cross (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) and Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) notched 10 digs apiece
• Oaks produced a career-high eight blocks to guide the Smith defense 
• The Pioneers finished with a hitting percentage of .215 

Highlights vs Johnson & Wales

• Tied at 10-10 in the first set, the Pioneers pulled away with a 10-2 run to secure an 18-11 edge 
• Smith continued their aggressive offense finishing the set 25-16 capped off with a kill by Fiona Hegarty (Tustin, CA/Foothill)
• The Pioneers jumped out to a 7-4 advantage in the second set followed by six unanswered points to increase the lead to 13-4
• An impressive 12-3 run for Smith capped off with a kill by Olivia Mendoza (Chino Hills, CA/Ruben S. Ayala) secured the second set with a dominating 25-7 victory
• Smith jumped out to an early 13-5 lead over Johnson & Wales in the third and final frame
• The Wildcats attempted to close the gap but the Pioneers continued to pull away finishing the set 25-20 and collecting the 3-0 sweep 
• Ari Cross (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) recorded 10 kills (.240) for the Pioneers 
• Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) led the Smith defense with a career-high seven blocks
• Meg Hopkins (Matthews, NC/Covenant Day School) recorded 12 assists while Ruby Woodward (Winchester, MA/Winchester) added 11
• Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) delivered 15 digs while Hopkins added 10 
• The Pioneers concluded the match with a .253 hitting percentage 

Up Next
The Pioneers will host NEWMAC opponent Emerson on Tuesday, October 17 at 7pm. 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.