NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — For the second time this fall, Smith College Volleyball heads to Staake Gymnasium to face the team atop the NEWMAC. The fourth-seeded Bears (26-5, 9-2 NEWMAC) take on top-seeded and No. 21 Babson College (23-5, 10-1 NEWMAC) in the NEWMAC Championship semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. The winner plays for the conference title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship on Sunday.

Match Information
Who: No. 4 Smith (26-5, 9-2 NEWMAC) vs. No. 1 seed/No. 21 Babson (23-5, 10-1 NEWMAC)
What: NEWMAC Championship Semifinal
When: Saturday, Nov. 14 • 1 p.m.
Where: Staake Gymnasium (Babson Park, Mass.)
Watch: FloCollege

SERIES HISTORY
Smith leads the all-time series 25-17, and the last five meetings have alternated winners. Babson took a five-set match in Northampton last season. Smith has won its last three trips to Staake Gymnasium, in 2022, 2024 and again this September.

LAST MEETING
On Sept. 26, Smith beat then-No. 19 Babson 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 25-27, 25-20). It is still the only conference loss on Babson's record. The Bears won the first two sets by 10 points each, then lost a tight third set that included a saved set point at 25-25. They closed out the match in the fourth behind back-to-back blocks from Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) and Sara Warren (Long Beach, CA/Sato).

Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) led Smith with 12 kills, three aces and eight digs, and Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) added 11 kills. Feuer finished with seven blocks, while Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI/'Iolani School) (23 assists, 17 digs) and Hana Suzuki (Chattanooga, TN/East Hamilton High School) (15 assists) ran the offense. Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) anchored a defense that held the Beavers to a .100 hitting percentage. Smith also won the serving battle, with a 10-4 edge in aces.

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Smith reached the semifinals the hard way. The Bears fell behind Springfield twice in Tuesday's quarterfinal before winning 3-2 (14-25, 25-19, 17-25, 25-20, 15-13). They hit .368 in the deciding set. Etheridge led the way with a match-high 17 kills on .429 hitting, and Chapin added 13 kills. Feuer recorded eight blocks, and Tullis had 14 digs and 30 receptions without an error.

Chapin leads the offense with 304 kills (3.30 per set) on .292 hitting, and Etheridge has 223 kills. In the middle, Feuer is hitting .393 and leads the team with 124 blocks. Higashihara has 533 assists, Suzuki leads the team with 59 aces, and Tullis leads the back row with 246 digs. As a team, Smith is hitting .257 and holding opponents to .137.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Babson won the NEWMAC regular-season title outright for the first time in program history. The Beavers swept eighth-seeded Wellesley in Tuesday's quarterfinal. Setter Zoe Ackerman runs the offense with 1,028 assists (10.38 per set) and also leads the team with 70 aces. Hailey Fouche is the top attacker with 288 kills on .300 hitting, and Ailsa Munro (203 kills, .340) and Devon Burke (188 kills) give Babson three proven options. Sabina Frosk leads the defense with 356 digs (4.19 per set). Babson is looking for its first NEWMAC title since 2019.

COMMON GROUND
Both teams beat Springfield, Wellesley and WPI this season. Babson beat MIT, Emerson and William Smith, the three teams that handed Smith its three non-conference-tournament losses among this group.

BEAR BITES

• Smith is the only NEWMAC team to beat Babson this season.
• The Bears are 2-0 against Springfield this fall, winning in four sets on Sept. 29 and in five on Tuesday.
• Smith won the 2024 NEWMAC title after coming back from two sets down against Springfield in that year's semifinal.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• .100: Babson's hitting percentage against Smith on Sept. 26, compared with .253 for the season
• 124: Feuer's blocks this season
• 304: Chapin's kills this season
• 2019: Babson's last NEWMAC title

UP NEXT
The winner faces the winner of No. 2 MIT and No. 6 Coast Guard in the NEWMAC Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Babson.

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.