WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The Smith College volleyball team claimed the victory over New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponent Wellesley College, 3-1 (15-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-17), on Friday evening. The Pioneers improve to 10-5 and 4-0 in conference play while the Blue drop to 8-4 and 2-2.

Highlights

• Wellesley began the first set of the evening strong with a commanding 16-7 lead
• The Pioneers were unable to close the gap and the Blue claimed the first set 25-15
• During the second frame the two teams traded points in back-and-forth play until Smith pushed to set point at 24-23
• A kill by Wellesley's Kate Giang tied the Pioneers 24-24
• Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) responded with back-to-back kills from Ruby Woodward (Winchester, MA/Winchester), leading Smith to the victory 26-24 in the second set 
• With the Pioneers trailing behind Wellesley 16-11 in the third set, Smith registered nine of the next 10 points to gain a 20-17 advantage
• Wellesley attempted to reduce the margin but the Pioneers were able to take the third frame 25-19 
• In the final set, Smith held a slight 7-6 lead before delivering an aggressive attack by recording nine unanswered points to gain a significant 16-6 edge 
• The Blue pushed to reduce the margin but a block by Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) notched the final set for Smith 25-17 and the 3-1 victory

Notes

• Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) led the Pioneer attack with a career-high 14 kills (.500)
• Meg Hopkins (Matthews, NC/Covenant Day School) recorded 18 assists while Ruby Woodward (Winchester, MA/Winchester) posted 11
• Olivia Teske (Minneapolis, MN/South High Minneapolis) registered 13 digs while Gabby Beckman (Berthoud, CO/Grandview) finished with 11
• Miranda Oakes (San Francisco, CA/San Francisco University) controlled the Smith defense with a season-high seven blocks 

Up Next
The Pioneers will host NEWMAC rival Springfield College on Tuesday, October 3 for a 7pm game. 

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.