ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Smith College went 2-0 on the opening day of the Rochester Invitational on Friday at the Louis Alexander Palestra, outlasting Clarkson University 3-2 in a five-set afternoon match and knocking off host University of Rochester 3-1 at night. The Bears are 6-0 to open the season.
Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA/Temecula Valley High School) and Mia Etheridge (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay) combined for 58 kills across the two matches, while Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK/Oklahoma Christian School) piled up 43 digs and Hana Suzuki (Chattanooga, TN/East Hamilton High School) served 10 aces on the day. Smith won both matches at the service line, finishing with 29 aces to its opponents' 12.
Clarkson 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 23-25, 15-12
Chapin powered the opener with 20 kills on 48 swings, hitting .271 with 14 digs and two aces. Etheridge added a double-double of 13 kills and 16 digs, Tullis posted 22 digs and Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD/Governor Thomas Johnson) hit .412 with eight kills and six blocks, matching Sara Warren (Long Beach, CA/Sato) for the team high. Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI/'Iolani School) handed out 26 assists and Suzuki added 22 with three aces.
Clarkson took the opener 25-22 with a 4-0 finish after Smith led 22-21. The Bears answered by hitting .423 in the second for a 25-15 win. The third featured 12 ties before Clarkson went ahead 21-20 on back-to-back aces, but Smith closed on a 5-2 run behind Chapin kills at 23-22 and 24-23. The Golden Knights forced a fifth with a 25-23 fourth set, and in the decider a Uma Schulz (Riverwoods, IL/Deerfield High School) kill and a Suzuki ace put Smith up 6-4 before Suzuki ended it with a kill at 15-12. Conley Burns led Clarkson with 22 kills.
Rochester 22-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-19
Etheridge led the nightcap with 16 kills on 33 attempts, hitting .364 with seven digs and three blocks. Suzuki was the difference serving, delivering seven aces as part of a 16-ace team effort. Higashihara ran the offense with 22 assists and three aces, and Tullis added 21 digs. Warren posted six blocks, Feuer and Schulz five apiece, and Nola Gannon (Dallas, Texas/Townview TAG) hit .375 with seven kills.
After dropping the first set 25-22, Smith took control in the second on two long service runs — four straight points from Suzuki for a 10-4 lead, then four in a row from Higashihara for a 17-10 cushion. The Bears were at their best in the third, pulling away on a 6-0 run capped by a Natalia Rossi (Mebane, North Carolina/Eno River Academy) ace and getting a four-point run from Maddie Hliboki (Valley Village, CA/Harvard Westlake) to lead 18-7, holding the Yellowjackets to a negative hitting percentage in a 25-12 win. Rochester led 12-9 in the fourth before Smith closed on an 11-5 run, with Chapin finishing the match on an ace. Myla Nover-Estes led Rochester with 14 kills, and the Yellowjackets fell to 4-2.
Up Next
Smith closes the Rochester Invitational on Saturday with a 1 p.m. match against Penn College and a 3 p.m. match against Alfred University.
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.
