Box Score NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The Smith College volleyball team cruised past Mount Holyoke 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12) in their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener on Tuesday evening. The Pioneers improve to 7-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference play while the Lyons drop to 5-5 and 0-1 in league action. 

Highlights

• Tied at 7-7 in the first set, Smith recorded five unanswered points to take the lead 12-7
• Mount Holyoke attempted to close the gap but the Pioneers continued to push, increasing their advantage to 20-13
• Smith finished the first set strong claiming the victory over the Lyons at 25-17
• The Pioneers began the second set with a 9-5 edge but Mount Holyoke's persistence allowed them to overtake the lead at 13-12
• With Smith trailing by one point at 17-16, the Pioneers dished out a seven-point run capped off by a kill from Olivia Teske (Minneapolis, MN/South High Minneapolis) to increase the advantage to 23-17
• The Lyons scored three of the next five points but ultimately Smith won the second set 25-20 after another kill from Teske 
• In the third set the Pioneers jumped out to an early 9-3 lead
• Smith continued to pull away from Mount Holyoke at 17-10, scoring seven of the next eight points to push the advantage to 24-11
• Ultimately a kill by Teske secured the 25-12 victory and the 3-0 sweep over the Lyons

Notes

• Abby Hunt (Mandeville, LA/Fontainebleau) led the Pioneers attack with 11 kills hitting .444 and averaging 3.66 kills per set 
• Meg Hopkins (Matthews, NC/Covenant Day School) totaled 19 assists for a 6.33 assists per set average 
• Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) recorded 10 digs (3.33 digs per set) while Gabby Beckman (Berthoud, CO/Grandview) posted nine digs (3.00 digs per set) 

Up Next
The Pioneers will host NEWMAC rival Clark University and regional opponent Bowdoin College in a trimatch on Saturday, September 23. Smith will face Clark at 1pm and Bowdoin at 5pm. 

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.