Boston, Mass. - November 7, 2015 - Despite a career-best 13 kills from freshman right side Hayley Kmetz (Ardsley, N.Y.), the second-seeded Springfield College women's volleyball program fell to third-seeded Clark University, 3-1, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Tournament Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Rockwell Cage.

Springfield fell by the set scores of 15-25, 27-25, 22-25, 23-25.

With the loss, Springfield, which was ranked No 2 in the latest NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Regional Rankings, falls to 29-3 on the season, and saw its 20-match win streak come to a close. With the win, the Cougars improve to 22-7 on the season, and advance to the NEWMAC Championship match to take on reigning-champion and fourth-seeded Babson College on Sunday at 1 p.m. back in Cambridge. 

With nine block assists on the afternoon, junior middle blocker broke the single-season block assist record, as she now has 133 block assists on the season, and passed Bethany Stosz, who posted 129 in 2008. Freshman libero Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.) and Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) combined for 46 digs, while Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped in 10 of her own. Graduate student Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) and Mawdsley also combined for 33 assists.

For the Cougars, along with 25 kills from Ramos, Ana Mercado (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) posted 12 kills on 34 swings, hitting .235 for the match. Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Ramos combined for 41 digs, while freshman setter Rachel Webb (Celina, Texas) tallied 52 assists in the match.

Springfield jumped out to an early 6-4 lead in the first set, following a put away from Holt, before the Cougars climbed back to make it nine-all following a pair of errors from the Pride. From there, a service ace from Courtney Pharr (Seattle, Wash.) and kill from Ramos gave Clark a 13-10 lead, forcing a Springfield timeout.

Coming out the of the break, the Pride gained a point on a service error from Pharr, before the Cougars tacked on five-straight points, capped by a put away from Ana Mercado (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), giving the Cougars an 18-11 advantage in the opening frame. Holding a 22-15 lead late in the frame, the Cougars picked up a kill from Pharr and a combo block by Pharr and Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M.) to close out the set, 25-15.

Springfield jumped out to a 4-0 lead to begin the second set, before Clark pulled to within one to make it 10-9, Pride. Holding a 13-11 lead midway through the stanza following a kill from Helgesen, Ramos picked up a kill to cut the Cougars' deficit to one, before they pulled even at 14 apiece following a kill from Glass-Smythe. 

With the score tied at 17, Clark strung together back-to-back points, before Springfield picked up a pair of points of its own to make it 19-19. Trading points in the late stages of the set, Mercado picked up a kill to make it 24-23, before Kmetz registered a kill of her own to tied it at 24. Clark then made it 25-24 after a Glass-Smythe put away, before Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) retaliated with a kill of her own. Back-to-back errors from the Pride closed out the set for Clark, as the Cougars took the second frame, 27-25.

After trading points to begin the third set, Clark went on a 3-0 run, capped by a kill from Ramos to give the Cougars a 11-8 advantage. Kmetz then picked up a kill to cut the Pride's deficit to two, before Brogan evened the score at 13 with a put away. With the score at 17-17, Clark went on a 3-0 run, including a kill from Ramos, prior to a pair of service aces from Pharr to make it 20-17, Clark. Following a put away from Helgesen and a combo block from the sophomore and Holt to cut Springfield's margin down to one, Holt came up with another big kill to make it 20-20 late in the set.

Back-to-back kills from Holt and Kmetz gave Springfield a 22-20 lead, forcing a Clark timeout, before the Cougars came out of the break and picked up a kill to make it a one-point set. Leading 23-21 late in the set, Kmetz registered another put away to force set point, before an attack error from Glass-Smythe gave the Pride a third-set win, 25-22.

Clark jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the fourth set following a solo block from Ramos, before balooning its lead to 6-2 on an ace from Ramos and attack error from Brogan. Down 7-3, Springfield rattled off four-straight points, capped by a kill from McGayhey to make it 7-7 early in the frame. All even at eight points apiece, Clark picked up a pair of points to make it 10-8, before a solo block from Holt brought the Pride back to within one. 

All even at 13 pionts apiece, a Brogan kill sparked a 3-0 run for the Pride, giving it a 18-15 lead, before Clark pulled to within one following a kill from Pharr. After Hurwitz notched a kill off the back line, and a combo block from Holt and Helgesen helped Springfield regain its three-point lead, Pharr and Ramos posted back-to-back put aways to make it 20-19, Springfield, late in the fourth frame. With the score 22-22, Clark picked up a pair of points, including an ace from Ramos, before Kmetz brought Springfield back to within one, making it 24-23, forcing a Clark timeout. Coming out of the break, Mercado drilled a cross-court kill to seal the victory for the Cougars.