SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 2, 2012) – Sophomore Stephany Yang recorded 12 assists and added 10 digs, but it wasn't enough as Mount Holyoke College fell to Springfield, 3-0 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) volleyball action at Mildred S. Howard Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Pride improve to 14-3 on the season and 4-1 in league play, while the Lyons slip to 3-7 overall and 0-5 in the NEWMAC.
Springfield was aided by a number of solid efforts, winning the first set by a 25-11 margin. The Pride went on to claim victory 25-8 in set two and 25-14 in the final set. Senior Mary Consol (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) led the charge with 13 kills and just one error on 16 attempts. She also added three blocks.
The Pride, which hit .428 as a team, also saw sophomore Whitney Miller (Cuba, N.Y./Cuba-Rushford) add 36 assists, while junior Tessa Smolinski (Hebron, Conn./RHAM) had seven kills, nine digs and four aces in the contest.
In addition to Yang, the Lyons also saw first year Emma Sweeting (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y./Hastings) had five kills and a squad-best six digs with two blocks, while junior Martina Kneifel (Oro Valley, Ariz./Canyon del Oro) added four kills and a dig.
Sophomore Kaleen Iwema (Wadsworth, Ill./Warren Township) chipped in with two kills, three aces and four digs, while junior captain Kristina Weld (Warwick, Mass./Pioneer Valley Regional) added three kills.
Mount Holyoke returns to action this weekend at the Seven Sisters Tournament, hosted by Bryn Mawr. The Lyons will take on Smith (12:30pm) and Wellesley (3pm) on Saturday, before facing Vassar (9am) and the host Owls (11:30am) on Sunday. Springfield is back in action on Friday with home matches against Colby-Sawyer (5pm) and Montclair State (7pm).
