SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. — Smith College Volleyball (22-4, 8-1 NEWMAC) recorded 10 team blocks and held Mount Holyoke (9-10, 2-7 NEWMAC) to a -.010 hitting percentage in a 25-12, 25-18, 25-18 sweep on Tuesday at Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium.
The Bears controlled the net from the start, outblocking the Lyons 10-2 and forcing 30 attack errors on 101 swings. Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) was in on six blocks, while Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) and Uma Schulz (Riverwoods, IL/Deerfield High School) each added five. Smith posted five blocks in the opening set alone as Mount Holyoke hit -.257 with 15 errors. Addison Klunder (Los Angeles, CA/The Buckley School) served the Bears to an 8-1 lead early in the set and closed it with three straight points, including an ace on set point.
Smith hit .325 with only six attack errors. Chapin led the offense with 11 kills on 20 swings without an error (.550), and Feuer added six kills on 11 attacks, also error-free (.545). The Bears hit .485 with 17 kills in the second set, breaking a 7-7 tie with back-to-back Chapin kills and using a 4-1 spurt to pull ahead 19-12. Klunder finished with five kills, two aces and eight digs, Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) added five kills and Sara Warren (Long Beach, CA/Sato) chipped in four kills and two blocks.
Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI/'Iolani School) handed out 16 assists with six digs, and Hana Suzuki (Chattanooga, TN/East Hamilton High School) added six assists. Natalia Rossi (Mebane, North Carolina/Eno River Academy) posted five assists, a team-high 10 digs and back-to-back aces that stretched Smith's third-set lead to 14-6. The Bears finished with eight aces, four of them in the third set. Layla Abdullah led Mount Holyoke with 10 kills, Melina Cudiamat had 24 assists and Kyra Staples recorded 15 digs.
Smith hosts Keene State at 1 p.m. and Westfield State at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Northampton.
About Smith Athletics
Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information, log on to GoSmithBears.com and follow the Bears on Facebook and Instagram.
