Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Smith College volleyball team fell in the opening quarterfinal round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tournament, 3-1 (23-25, 21-25, 25-15, 22-25), to top-ranked Springfield College on Tuesday evening.

The Pioneers, who were slotted at the eighth seed in the conference tournament, conclude their season 16-13 and 5-6 in conference play. The Pride, who were undefeated (11-0) in league action during the regular season, improve to 25-3 and will advance to the semifinal round of the NEWMAC Tournament on Saturday. 

Highlights

• Springfield began the first set with a 6-2 advantage but a four-point run allowed the Pioneers to tie the Pride at 6-6
• Both teams exchanged the lead in back-and-forth play until Smith held a slight 21-20 edge
• The Pride dished out a final push, claiming the first set with a narrow 25-23 victory
• In the second set Springfield jumped out to a 12-6 lead over Smith
• The Pioneers recorded six of the next seven points to reduce the margin to 13-12
• Springfield continued to pull away to a 18-13 advantage before Smith responded with an unanswered six points to claim the lead 19-18
• A consistent Pride offense finished the set 25-21 securing a second set for Springfield 
• Smith began the third set with a slight 13-11 edge over Springfield
• The Pioneers delivered a six-point run to increase the advantage to 19-11
• Smith continued to pull away with a strong attack clinching the third set 25-15
• Springfield held an 18-12 lead over Smith in the fourth frame of the evening after trading points early in the set
• The Pioneers produced a 9-1 run to pull ahead 21-19
• A final 6-1 run from Springfield concluded the set 25-22 securing the 3-1 victory for the Pride 

Notes

• Abby Sweeney (Spring, TX/Klein) led the Pioneer offense with 12 kills (hitting .360) while Abby Hunt (Mandeville, LA/Fontainebleau) recorded 10 
• Leading Smith in assists was Meg Hopkins (Matthews, NC/Covenant Day School) delivering 20 in the three sets she played while Ruby Woodward (Winchester, MA/Winchester) posted 16 assists
• Libero Gabby Beckman (Berthoud, CO/Grandview) notched 18 digs, appearing in all four sets, while Sarah Dankovich (El Paso, TX/Coronado) added 10 digs
• Miranda Oakes (San Francisco, CA/San Francisco University) and Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) took control of the Pioneer defense producing five blocks apiece

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.