Springfield, Mass. - November 4, 2014 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team's season came to a close on Tuesday evening as it fell in straight sets to the Coast Guard Academy in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Quarterfinals in Blake Arena.

The Bears won the contest by the scores of 29-27, 25-23, 29-27 to advance to the NEWMAC Championship Semifinals against Babson this upcoming Saturday at MIT.  Coast Guard, which entered as the sixth seed, improved to 19-11 on the year, while the third-seeded Pride fell to 20-10.

Springfield hurt themselves all night from the service line, totaling 18 service errors in the three sets. Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) carried Springfield offense, posting a match-high 15 kills at a .406 clip to go along with three blocks.  Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) added 11 kills and 12 digs, while Meghan Kinee (Williamstown, N.J.) was credited with 17 digs. 

Susan West had 11 kills and 13 digs, Ashley Dumont also had 11 kills and a team-high four blocks in the win, while freshman Michelle McGill led the way with 21 digs.  Michelle Hernandez led the team with 21 assists to fo with 14 digs.

Coast Guard built an early three point lead in the opening game and maintained the cushion at 11-8 before the Pride ran off four of the next five points to tie it 12-12 after Hurwitz found the backer corner. Springfield would score four straight to break a 14-14 tie and open up its largest lead 18-14 as Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) connected in transition. The Bears would score the next three to pull to within 18-17, but the Pride scored four of the next five for a 22-18 edge on a Rebecca Higgins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) roll shot.

The Bears would not go quietly as they ran off six straight behind the serving of freshman Michelle Hernandez for a 24-22 lead. The Pride would fight off a pair of set points with three straight forcing a set point of their own. Springfield would have set points at 25-24 and 26-25, but each time West came through with clutch kills. Coast Guard finally closed out the set with an ace by junior Maggie Hine for the 29-27 win in a set that saw 10 ties and four lead changes. West led the Bears with seven kills and a .462 hitting percentage in the opening game.

In the second game, the teams alternated the first 16 points and were tied for the eighth time at 8-8. No team had scored three straight points in the game until Coast Guard trailed 23-22 and scored the final three points as Hernandez had an ace, a Springfield attack error gave the Bears set point and freshman Madison Scott's kill gave the Bears a 25-23 win.  All told, the second frame featured 16 ties and six lead changes.

Coast Guard led 8-4 early in the third game and later, after three straight points, opened up an 18-12 lead cushion.  However, the Pride would respond scoring nine of the next 12 to tie it 21-21 behind the dominant play of McGayhey, who produced seven kills in the set.  Hurwitz hammered a ball down the line to eventually give Springfield a set point at 24-23, only to have the visitors respond.   Springfield fought off match points at 25-24, 27-26 before the Bears used kills from Hernandez and West to wrap up the win 29-27.