October 24, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carole Grills
(413) 585-2703
Volleyball Competes in Hall of Fame Invitational
Northampton, MA: Junior outside hitter, Laurel Belton (San Bernadino, CA) was named to the All Tournament team of the 2009 Volleyball Hall of Fame Invitational this weekend. The Pioneers hosted the gold bracket of the sixteen team Invitational and finished in 8th place.
On Friday night, #8 seed Smith faced the eventual Tournament champion Tufts University and lost 3-1 (25-11, 17-25, 26-24 and 25-12). Belton led Smith with 24 digs and 6 service aces while Courtney Faria (Pocasset, MA) and Lauren Martinez (Phoenix, AZ) combined for 28 assists. Senior defensive specialist Brianne Connizzo (Demarest, NJ) added 19 digs with two service aces in the loss.
The Pioneers faced Brandeis University on Saturday morning and dropped three straight sets, 25-9, 25-12 an 25-20. Belton again had a good match with 7 kills and 12 digs. Senior Bethany Weiss (Windham, NH) and Shakwana Etienne (West Orange, NJ) each had 4 kills while senior co-captain Mikal Minarich (Hobart, IN) added 11 digs and Faria 7 assists.
In their last match of the day, Smith fell to Springfield College, 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 25-17, and 25-15); Belton had an outstanding match registering 24 digs, 8 kills with 3 service aces. Minarich added 13 kills and 15 digs while Martinez also added 15 digs.
In their last home game of the 2009 season, the Pioneers host valley and NEWMAC rival Mount Holyoke College on Tuesday, October 27th at 7 pm in Ainsworth Gym.
1 2 3 4
Smith 11 25 24 12
Tufts 25 17 26 25
1 2 3
Smith 9 12 20
Brandeis 25 25 25
1 2 3 4
Smith 14 25 17 15
Springfield 25 21 25 25
