NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — No. 24 Smith College Volleyball (16-1, 5-0 NEWMAC) travels to Newton, Mass., on Saturday, Oct. 10, for a tri-match at Lasell University, facing New England College (9-6, 3-2 GNAC) at 1 p.m. and host Lasell (9-8, 7-0 GNAC) at 3 p.m. The Bears enter on a seven-match winning streak after beating WPI 3-1 on Tuesday, and they earned the first AVCA Top 25 ranking in program history this week.

Smith vs. New England College
Saturday, Oct. 10 | 1 p.m.
Lasell University | Newton, Mass.

Smith at Lasell
Saturday, Oct. 10 | 3 p.m.
Lasell University | Newton, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY

Smith leads the all-time series with New England College 3-0 in a matchup that dates back to 1996. The Bears are 2-0 at home and 1-0 at neutral sites against the Pilgrims. Saturday's match is the first meeting between the teams since 2021.

Smith leads the all-time series with Lasell 5-1 in a matchup that dates back to 2013. The Bears have won the last three meetings, and the Lasers' lone win came in Northampton on Sept. 19, 2015. Smith is 2-0 on the road against Lasell, including a 3-1 win in Newton on Sept. 9, 2014. Saturday's match is the first meeting since 2023.

LAST MEETING

Smith beat New England College 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8) on Oct. 16, 2021, in New London, Conn. The Bears rallied from a 2-1 deficit behind 19 kills from Olivia Smith (Mill Valley, CA/Tamalpais) and 16 from Abby Sweeney (Spring, TX/Klein). Nathalie Pak (Lexington, MA/Lexington) tied her career high with 42 assists, and Gabby Beckman had 30 digs.

Smith swept Lasell 25-20, 25-19, 25-8 at the Bonnie May Invitational in Northampton on Sept. 8, 2023. Trailing 15-10 in the first set, the Bears rallied to tie the score at 16 and closed the set on a block by Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) and Olivia Teske (Minneapolis, MN/South High Minneapolis). Ari Cross (Milwaukee, WI/Rufus King) ended the second set with an ace, and Smith used a 12-1 run to put away the third. Teske had a match-high nine kills on .375 hitting, Sarah Dankovich (El Paso, TX/Coronado) added eight kills and Meg Hopkins had 14 assists and nine digs. Smith hit .279 in the match.

SCOUTING THE BEARS

Smith has won seven straight. It beat WPI 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 22-25, 25-12) on Tuesday at Ainsworth Gym, hitting .276 with 59 kills and 10 aces while holding the Engineers to .220. Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) led all players with 18 kills on .390 hitting, adding three aces, seven digs and two blocks. Feuer had 15 kills on .444 hitting and three block assists. Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI/'Iolani School) had 26 assists and eight digs, Hana Suzuki (Chattanooga, TN/East Hamilton High School) added 21 assists, Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) had 18 digs and Addison Klunder (Los Angeles, CA/The Buckley School) posted seven kills and 16 digs. Smith's 16-1 record matches the 1988 team for the best 17-match start in program history, and the Bears are off to their best start in NEWMAC play. Smith received 236 points in Tuesday's AVCA poll. Chapin leads the team with 163 kills, or 3.13 per set. Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) adds 123 kills. Feuer is hitting .408 with 115 kills and leads the team with 66 blocks. Higashihara has 291 assists, and Suzuki has 234 assists and a team-high 29 aces. Tullis anchors the back row with 172 digs, or 3.51 per set. Smith is hitting .241 and holding opponents to .120.

SCOUTING THE PILGRIMS

New England College has won five of its last six. It beat Mitchell 3-1 on Tuesday in Henniker, N.H., totaling 15 blocks to Mitchell's zero. Tyra Kelly had 11 kills on .579 hitting and a career-high 10 total blocks, and Alexandra Seijas-Quea set season highs with 24 assists and 15 digs while adding three aces. Lily Cunanan had a career-high 21 digs. NEC opens Saturday against Lasell in GNAC play at 11 a.m. Kelly leads the Pilgrims with 108 kills on .292 hitting and leads the GNAC with 48 blocks. Emma Bernard has 93 kills on .257 hitting. Seijas-Quea, a graduate setter, broke the program's career records for service aces and assists this season and has 195 assists and a team-high 31 aces. Maddy Rollinson adds 183 assists. Cunanan leads the back row with 166 digs, or 3.19 per set. NEC is hitting .162 and holding opponents to .112.

SCOUTING THE LASERS

Lasell has won two straight and is unbeaten in GNAC play. It beat Saint Joseph (Conn.) 3-1 and Fitchburg State 3-0 on Saturday in West Hartford, Conn. Estella Feenstra had 16 kills against Saint Joseph, then added 15 kills on .500 hitting with four aces against Fitchburg State. Shantte Siliezar had 21 and 29 assists in the two matches, Nadia Shloul had 12 kills and 10 digs against Saint Joseph, and Victoria Pariseault hit .615 with nine kills. Lasell will recognize its seniors on Saturday. Feenstra leads the Lasers with 209 kills, or 3.43 per set. Shloul adds 109 kills. Siliezar has 102 kills and 262 assists, and Trinity Silva averages 7.43 assists per set. Analee Ronas leads the back row with 195 digs, or 3.68 per set, and leads the team with 36 aces. Michelle French leads Lasell with 42 blocks.

COMMON GROUND

Smith won 3-1 at then-No. 19 Babson on Sept. 26. Lasell lost 3-0 at Babson on Sept. 8. Smith beat Endicott 3-1 at the New England Classic on Sept. 18. Lasell lost 3-1 to Endicott at home on Sept. 12. Smith swept Wheaton at home on Oct. 3. Lasell won 3-1 at Wheaton on Sept. 1. Smith and New England College have not faced a common opponent this season.

BEAR BITES

Klunder served six straight points, including an ace, to turn a 3-2 lead into an 8-2 advantage in the first set against WPI, and she closed the set with back-to-back kills. Chapin had seven kills in the second set, and Natalia Rossi (Mebane, North Carolina/Eno River Academy) served six straight points to stretch an 11-8 lead to 17-8. Feuer had eight kills in the third set. In the fourth, Rossi served four straight points for a 6-1 lead before Chapin served eight in a row, including two aces, to push a 9-4 lead to 16-4. Nola Gannon (Dallas, Texas/Townview TAG) added five kills and two blocks, and Suzuki ended the match with an ace. Feuer's three blocks against WPI raised her career total to 320, eighth in program history.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

Smith is 8-0 at home, 3-0 in road matches and 5-1 at neutral sites this season. Smith averages 2.62 aces per set. Lasell averages 2.93, and 4.00 in GNAC play. NEC averages 2.70. Smith averages 2.18 blocks per set. NEC averages 1.72. Smith opponents are hitting .120. NEC opponents are hitting .112. Chapin averages 3.13 kills per set. Feenstra leads Lasell at 3.43, and Kelly leads NEC at 2.04.

UP NEXT

Smith returns to NEWMAC play at Clark on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.

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.