October 24, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703

Volleyball Falls to Wellesley

Northampton, MA: The Pioneers fell to New England Women and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Wellesley College 3-1 last night at Wellesley. With the win, the Blue improved to 23-6 overall and 7-1 in the conference while Smith fell to 16-13 overall and 4-4 in NEWMAC competition.

In the first game of the four game match, the team traded points until Wellesley took a 24-19 lead and held on for the 30-26 win.  The second game was also close with the Pioneers up 14-13 half way through the match but Wellesley won 13 of the next 15 points to take the game 30-19. Wellesley held a 26-24 lead in the third game before the Pioneers scored three consecutive points to take the lead and hold on for the 30-28 win. In the final game, the Blue used aggressive serving and won the match 30-12.

Senior co-captain Catherine Shafer (Red Bluff, CA) led the Pioneers with 11 kills and 23 digs.  Junior Courtney Parker (Berlin, MD) added 10 kills while first year Lauren Martinez (Phoenix, AZ) had 13 assists with 10 digs.  Sophomore Mikal Minarich (Hobart, IN) added 19 assists and 7 digs in the loss.

The Pioneers will play in their last regular season contest on Saturday when they host Wheaton College at 1 pm.