SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Springfield College women's volleyball
team used a balanced attack to topple rival Wellesley College, 3-1,
in a matchup of the final two unbeaten teams in the New England
Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) on Tuesday evening.
Springfield won the match by the scores of 25-12, 10-25, 25-21,
25-16.
The Pride, winners of 11 straight, now stand at 23-2 on the
season, but more importantly are 6-0 in league play and sit in the
driver's seat to host the conference tournament. Wellesley drops to
11-5, 5-1, and currently sits in second in the conference
standings.
Kelsea Hellyar led the Springfield offense with 38 assists to go
along with a team-best eight digs as five different members of the
team had at least nine kills. Kim Giaquinto had a strong match for
the hosts as she posted 10 kills at a .529 clip to go along with
five digs, three aces, and a pair of blocks. Senior All-American
Heather Lively also registered 10 kills for the Pride, while Tessa
Smolinski chipped in with nine kills of her own. Middle hitters
Sarah Lang-Rodean and Lauren Torvi each posted nine kills in the
win, with Lang-Rodean racking up a match-high five blocks.
For the visiting Blue, Isabel Custodio powered
home a match-high 11 kills to go along with her 18 assists, six
digs and three blocks. Elizabeth Campbell recorded
eight kills and 11 digs, while Taylor King also
notched eight kills. Victoria Peng handed out 20
assists and Traci Hamanaka picked up a match-high
13 digs.
Entering the match, Springfield had lost just two matches all
season, with one of those losses coming to Wellesley in the MIT
Invitational earlier this season. Springfield jumped out of the
gate, with Hellyar at the service line, as it opened up a quick 4-0
lead in the first set. A Hart service ace would later make it 10-3
as the Blue were forced to call an early timeout in the opening
set. Hampered by eight attack errors, Wellesley struggled to find
its rhythm, while Springfield hit .435 for the frame. Smolinski
posted five kills in the set as Springfield cruised to a 25-12 win.
The second set was a completely different story as a new-look
lineup for Wellesley came out swinging against the Pride.
Springfield found themselves down 9-0 to start as Custodio hammered
three kills for the visitors. The Blue continued the pressure as it
opened up a 20-6 lead after a Springfield attack error, before
three straight points by the hosts made it 20-9, the closest the
set would get. Custodio notched her sixth kill of the game to even
the match at one as the visitors won 25-10. For the set, Wellesley
hit .565, while Springfield managed to hit just .036.
The Pride snagged an early 10-4 lead in the third after
back-to-back Wellesley attack errors. Springfield then maintained a
healthy cushion until kills from King and Custodio made it 20-17,
in favor of the hosts. Wellesley got within two at 22-20 after a
Campbell kill, but kills from Lang-Rodean and Torvi set up game
point for the Pride. After a Custodio kill made it 24-21, Smolinski
manufactured a back-row kill to give Springfield a 2-1 advantage.
After a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, Springfield went
on a 5-2 run after leading 11-8 to snag a 16-10 advantage following
a Giaquinto kill. The Blue would get no closer than five the rest
of the way as Lively pounded home the final kill of the match as
Springfield picked up the critical league win.
Springfield will now have a week off before returning to action
next Tuesday at WPI for a 7:00 pm match. The Blue are back in
action hosting the Wellesley Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
For a complete schedule for the tournament, click here.
