NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Smith College Volleyball (24-5, 8-2 NEWMAC) closes the regular season against Wellesley (12-12, 4-6 NEWMAC) at noon Saturday, Nov. 7, at Ainsworth Gymnasium. The match comes three days after the Bears lost to MIT in a fourth set that went to 26-24. Smith enters the weekend in a four-way tie for second place in the NEWMAC, one match behind Babson, with seeding for next week's conference championship still to be decided.
Wellesley at Smith
Saturday, Nov. 7 | Noon
Ainsworth Gymnasium | Northampton, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
For most of the last two decades, this matchup belonged to Wellesley. The Blue won 24 straight meetings from 2006 to 2021 and still lead the all-time series 58-29, which dates back to 1981. The series has turned since then. Smith has won five in a row, starting with a 3-0 sweep at Ainsworth in 2022. It is the Bears' longest win streak against Wellesley since a seven-match run from 1987-89. The streak includes a 3-1 win over the Blue in a NEWMAC quarterfinal at Ainsworth on Nov. 12, 2024. Wellesley's last win came 3-2 on Oct. 19, 2021, in Wellesley. Smith is 22-28 at home in the series.
LAST MEETING
A year ago, Smith clinched its spot in the NEWMAC Championship on Wellesley's home floor. The Bears won 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 25-13 at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Nov. 8, 2025. Wellesley evened the match in the second set. Smith then edged a tight third and opened the fourth on a 6-0 run to pull away. The Bears outblocked the Blue 10-5 and held them to .083 hitting. Miranda Oakes (San Francisco, CA/San Francisco University) led the way at the net with seven blocks and eight kills. Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) hit .636 with seven kills and no errors, and Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) added eight kills and three aces. Addison Klunder (Los Angeles, CA/The Buckley School) had seven kills and 11 digs, and Hana Suzuki (Chattanooga, TN/East Hamilton High School) ran the offense with 23 assists.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Smith came within two points of forcing a fifth set against MIT on Tuesday. The Bears rallied from 19-16 down to take the third set, then led 21-20 late in the fourth before the Engineers closed it out 26-24. Chapin finished with 19 kills on .447 hitting, eight of them in the fourth set. Klunder (11 kills, 11 digs) and Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) (10 kills, 11 digs) each posted a double-double. Smith outhit MIT .237 to .232 in a match with 35 ties and 17 lead changes. The loss ended the Bears' three-match winning streak.
Chapin has been Smith's go-to attacker all season. She leads the team with 275 kills, or 3.31 per set, on .291 hitting, and those numbers climb to 3.67 kills per set and .326 hitting in conference play. Feuer is hitting .402 with 189 kills in the middle and leads the team with 111 blocks, or 1.23 per set. Etheridge (197 kills, 181 digs) and Klunder (155 kills) round out a balanced attack. Uma Schulz (Riverwoods, IL/Deerfield High School) adds 141 kills and 72 blocks, and Sara Warren (Long Beach, CA/Sato) has 67 blocks of her own. Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI/'Iolani School) has handed out 509 assists, or 5.59 per set. Suzuki has 390 assists and leads the team with 55 aces. Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) leads the back row with 222 digs and a .930 reception percentage, and Natalia Rossi (Mebane, North Carolina/Eno River Academy) has 31 aces. As a team, Smith is hitting .255 and holding opponents to .129.
SCOUTING THE BLUE
Wellesley arrives in Northampton looking to end a seven-match skid. The Blue opened the season 12-5 but haven't won since sweeping Clark on Oct. 17. On Tuesday, Emerson beat them 3-1 at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse, posting 13 blocks and holding Wellesley to .105 hitting. The Blue's four NEWMAC wins have come against Wheaton, Salve Regina, Coast Guard and Clark.
A first-year leads Wellesley's attack. Delia Noel had 17 kills in her collegiate debut and has 233 kills on the season, or 2.84 per set. Evie Hill has 202 kills and has been the Blue's most productive hitter in conference play, averaging 2.84 kills per set on .216 hitting. Ella Mancuso adds 182 kills and 44 blocks. Setter Else Kunze-Hoeg runs the offense, averaging 7.96 assists per set. She is also hitting .297 and leads the team with 37 aces. Caroline Meyer leads the back row with 240 digs, or 3.53 per set. Brianna Milliken has a team-high 55 blocks, and Noelle Winn has 170 digs and 30 aces. Wellesley is hitting .176 and holding opponents to .144.
COMMON GROUND
Results against 12 shared opponents help explain the gap between the two teams in the standings. Smith is 11-2 in those matches, and Wellesley is 5-7. The Bears won 3-1 on the road at both Babson and Springfield, while Wellesley lost 3-1 to Babson at home and 3-2 at Springfield. Smith swept Mount Holyoke and Lasell, which both beat the Blue in five sets. The Bears also beat WPI in four, and the Engineers beat Wellesley in four. Both teams swept Wheaton, Salve Regina, Coast Guard, Clark and Westfield State, and both lost 3-1 to Emerson. MIT beat Smith in four sets on Tuesday and swept Wellesley on Oct. 27.
BEAR BITES
Saturday is Smith's final NEWMAC regular-season match and its last chance to improve its seeding before the conference tournament. Babson leads at 9-1, and Smith, MIT, Springfield and Emerson are tied at 8-2. The Bears celebrated Senior Day on Oct. 31 with sweeps of Keene State and Westfield State. Smith opened the season 19-1, the best start in program history, and is 12-3 at home. The Bears have 261 aces to their opponents' 172 and have outblocked opponents 228-134.5.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
58-29: Wellesley's lead in the all-time series
5: Consecutive wins for Smith in the series
.402: Feuer's hitting percentage
3.67: Chapin's kills per set in NEWMAC play
7: Wellesley's current losing streak
UP NEXT
Smith begins play in the NEWMAC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
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.
