Springfield, Mass. - September 15, 2015 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team cruised past the Coast Guard Academy in straight sets to win its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener on Tuesday night in Blake Arena.  Springfield was victorious by the scores of 25-18, 25-9, 25-13.

Springfield improves to 9-1, 1-0 in league play, while the loss drops Coast Guard record to 4-2, 0-1.

Reigning NEWMAC Player of the Week Lauren Holt (Granby, Conn.) was dominant in the middle for Springfield, registering nine kills at a .667 hitting percentage while racking up eight blocks.  Kelsey McGayhey (Shelter Island, N.Y.) added nine kills and five blocks of her own, while both Elise Brogan (Andover, Mass.) and Jennifer Hurwitz (Longmeadow, Mass.) were credited with six kills each.  Marnae Mawdsley (Bolton, Conn.) totaled 22 of the Pride's 33 assists as she and Molly Giannattasio (East Lyme, Conn.) guided Springfield's offense to a .345 hitting percentage.

Springfield recorded 14 team blocks on the night and posted seven service aces, including three from Hannah Lozano (Stockton, Calif.).

For Coast Guard, Summer Adams (Gig Harbor, Wash.) led the way with seven kills, while Maggie Hine (Richmond, Va.) totaled 15 assists.  Emily Gilland (Daleville, Ind.) recorded a team-best eight digs in the loss.  Coast Guard was held to a -.044 hitting percentage for the match, their lowest output of the young season.

Springfield jumped out to a a 6-1 lead to begin the match after four-straight Coast Guard errors forced the visitors into a timeout.  The Pride's lead would grow to seven on a Hurwitz and Holt block at 9-2, but the Bears responded with a 7-2 surge of their own as head coach Moira Long called for a timeout.  Coast Guard would get as close as 14-13 after back-to-back blocks from Adams and Madison Scott, however, Springfield closed out the game on a 9-5 run, getting a big swing from Hayley Kmetz (Ardsley, N.Y.) for the 25-17 win.

Springfield used another strong start to begin the second stanza, with a Brogan and Kayleigh Helgesen (Oceanside, Calif.) block putting the hosts ahead 8-3 early on.  The Pride's offense began to find its rhythm as hit .417 in game and eased its way to a 25-9 victory.  McGayhey was dominant for the hosts, producing four kills and four blocks as Springfield limited the Bears to a -.250 hitting percentage.  

The start of the third set proved to be filled with runs for each team.  Springfield raced out to a 5-1 lead, only to have the visitors climb within 6-5 on a Ashley Dumont kill.  However, Springfield poured on four-straight points, with a Helgesen cross court kill giving the Pride a 10-5 advantage.  Hitting at a .478 as a team in the frame, Springfield cruised to a 25-13 win as Holt notched four kills and four blocks in the frame.

Springfield will travel to MIT on Saturday for a key-NEWMAC meeting beginning at 1:00 pm.