Pioneers seize 3-0 win over Seahawks

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The Smith College Pioneers claimed another NEWMAC win against Salve Regina women's volleyball Tuesday night at the Rodgers Recreation Center in a spirited three-setter.

A bad set from Smith and a service ace by Jacey Cosciello, in the libero uniform, gave the Seahawks the first two points of the match. Two attack errors by Salve Regina and a series of kills, first by Abby Sweeney followed by Abby Hunt gave Smith a slight advantage. Both teams were competitive for the duration of the first set. A kill from Brighton Solheim reciprocated by yet another kill from Smith's Abby Sweeney was not quite enough for the Seahawks to avoid a 25-22 first-set Pioneer victory. Smith extended their lead with a 25-13 win for set two, but the Seahawks made sure the gap would grow no wider and hung on for a 25-16 loss in the third and final set. Tonight's result moves Smith to 5-1 against NEWMAC opponents and the Seahawks fall to 0-6 in the conference. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Salve Regina 0, Smith 3 
Record: Salve Regina (10-9), Smith (13-7)
All-Time Series: Going into the game this evening the Pioneers and the Seahawks were 2-2. The last time the teams met in 2021 Smith won 3-0. Tonight's match makes the all-time record 3-2 in favor of Smith. 

NOTEWORTHY: 

• Sophomore Lydia Daskalos stepped up and provided four blocks for Salve Regina during the contest. 
• In both the kill and dig category, senior Brighton Solheim led the way with eight and nine respectively.
• Freshman Kate Andy made nine assists for the Seahawks. 
• Siena DeCicco backed up Solheim with four kills and seven digs. 
• Over the course of the match Salve Regina saw 43 kills, 109 total attempts and a hitting percentage of .229. 

COACH THOUGHTS: 

"Smith College, under head coach Greg Walker, is doing some really good things with their program," said head coach Sebastian Noordzy. "They have a lot of talented individuals and a lot of size at the net. Tonight, we had some players who haven't hit in a while in a match do some hitting for us and seeing that big block that Smith had is something that we're not used to yet. We are going to work hard to continue to grow and get better so the next time we see them it will look like a different match."

ON THE HORIZON: 

The next contest, which also happens to be a home game, is on Saturday, October 14 against Babson College at 1 p.m. The meetup with the Beavers will be another chance for the Seahawks to see a NEWMAC competitor.