Springfield, Mass. - October 7, 2014 - Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) and Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) combined for 23 kills to lead the Springfield College women's volleyball team to a straight-set win over Clark University on Tuesday evening in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in Blake Arena. 

Set scores were 25-21, 25-16, 25-16 in favor of the Pride as Springfield improved to 11-4, 5-2 in league play.  The loss set Clark back to 6-11, 1-5 against conference foes.

McGayhey pounded out a team-best 12 kills at a .429 clip, while Holt had 11 kills hitting .412 to go along with three blocks.  Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) handed out 34 assists as the Pride hit an even .300 on the night.  Both Amy Entel (Berkley, Mass.) and Meghan Kinee (Williamstown, N.J.) picked up 11 digs, while Whitney Miller (Cuba, N.Y.) added 10 digs.

Marina Ramos (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) paced the Cougars with 12 kills, nine digs, and two aces while Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) notched 12 digs.  Clark hit just .098 on the night.

Clark took control of the first set, jumping out to a 14-11 lead as Savonnah Rowe (New York, N.Y.) crafted a kill around the block to force Springfield into a timeout.  Springfield would eventually gain a 20-18 advantage after McGayhey hammered a ball off the Clark block as the visitors called for a timeout of their own.  Jennifer Hurwitz sealed the 25-21 win with a kill from the outside as Springfield finished the set hitting .433.

Springfield held a 14-13 advantage in the second set before pouring on a 5-0 surge, with a McGayhey kill and Kinee ace highlighting the spurt.  After Clark sided out on a Pride error, Springfield used a 6-2 run, with Elise Brogan (Andover, Mass.) notching two kills to give the hosts a 25-16 win.

McGayhey continued to stay hot in the third, producing three kills early to put the Pride up 13-6.  However, four-straight Springfield attack errors brought Clark right back, closing within 13-11.  Consecutive kills from Holt kickstarted the Pride's final run of the night, as the hosts scored 12 of the game's final 17 points to complete the sweep.  Holt and Hannah Andres (West Barnstable, Mass.) combiend for a double block on match point to end the contest.

Springfield will play some of the top teams in the region this weekend when it hosts the Tom Hay Invitational.  Springfield will host Westfield State, 11th-ranked Clarkson, Vassar, and Williams in a rematch of last year's NCAA Regional Semifinals.