NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — The No. 4 seed Smith College Bears (19–11, 7–4 NEWMAC) host No. 5 seed Coast Guard (17–8, 7–4) in the NEWMAC Women's Volleyball Quarterfinal on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. inside Ainsworth Gymnasium. It's a Whiteout in Ainsworth—free pizza and free T-shirts for students while supplies last—as Smith begins its title defense at home. The winner advances to Saturday's semifinals at the highest remaining seed.

Match Information

Who: No. 4 Smith vs. No. 5 Coast Guard
What: NEWMAC Quarterfinal
When: Tuesday, Nov. 11 • 7 p.m. ET
Where: Ainsworth Gymnasium (Northampton, Mass.)
Promotions: Whiteout • Free pizza & T-shirts for students (while supplies last)

Live Video, Live Stats & Tickets

Live Video
Live Stats
Tickets

Last Meeting

These programs already staged a "Battle of the Bears" on Sept. 23 in New London, where Smith won 3–1 (25–20, 25–23, 18–25, 25–20). Smith owned the tape and the floor that night—13 blocks and 98 digs—behind Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) (17 kills, 21 digs), Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) (16 kills, 15 digs), Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) (7 blocks) and Maddie Hliboki (Valley Village, CA/Harvard Westlake) (27 digs). For Coast Guard, Abby Schweitzer (17 kills), Corey Lemmer (10) and Sam Ventimiglia (9, 5 blocks) led the way.

Players to Watch

Smith: Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) enters the tournament fifth in the NEWMAC in kills per set (3.16), while Abby Hunt (Mandeville, LA/Fontainebleau) recently surpassed 1,000 career kills, anchoring the Bears' veteran core.
Coast Guard: Laila Baameur headlines the back row, leading the conference at 6.28 digs/set; CGA's offense features balanced pin scoring from Schweitzer, Lemmer and Ventimiglia.

Storylines & Keys

Defending champs' mindset: Smith captured the 2024 NEWMAC title and is built for big points and late-set poise.
First-contact battle: Etheridge/Chapin vs. Baameur sets the tone; whichever side stabilizes serve-receive first unlocks tempo and the middle lanes.
Net control: Smith's block (13 in the Sept. 23 win) was decisive; repeating that seam discipline vs. CGA's pins is pivotal.

Up Next

The winner advances to the NEWMAC Semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 15, with the championship set for Sunday, Nov. 16.