Boston, Mass. - November 2, 2021 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team advanced past Emerson in four sets in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Quarterfinals on Tuesday evening by the scores of 25-10, 25-22, 17-25, 25-22.

Springfield, which is the fifth seed in the tournament, improved to 21-6, and will now play at Babson in the conference semifinals on Saturday.  The Pride, which had started the season 11-0, suffered its first loss of the season on September 25 in a 3-0 setback at Emerson.  The Lions season comes to a close with a 17-8 mark. 

Sara Labadorf (Huntersville, N.C.) ran a balanced offensive attack with 27 assists, 18 digs, and six aces as five Springfield players had at least six kills in the win.  Camryn Bancroft (Eastport, N.Y.) tallied a team-best nine kills, fellow middle Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) added eight kills at a .538 clip to go along with four blocks, and Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) registered eight kills and eight digs.  Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.) chipped in seven kills and three blocks, Ashley Tanner (Manorville, N.Y.) added six kills, and Briana Tovar (Tucson, Ariz.) was impressive on the defensive end with 18 digs. 

Trailing 5-4 in the first set, the Pride poured on an 11-2 surge, fueled by three blocks from Wixted, as Springfield opened up a 16-6 cushion following a big swing from Tanner. Springfield would close out the frame scoring the final five points, as three-straight miscues from the Lions gave the Pride the 25-10 win. 

The hosts earned an 8-5 lead to start the second, but a pair of kills from Billet highlighted a five-point burst from Springfield as Emerson called for a timeout trailing 10-8.  The Pride's advantage would grow to 22-17  on a kill from Bancroft, and after a 5-1 push by Emerson made it a one-point set, a service error from the Lions and huge block from Bancroft and Labadorf allowed the Pride to take the 25-22 victory.

In the third, Emerson wasted no time seizing a 10-2 lead, but Springfield would respond with a 6-2 run as Wixted converted out of the middle to pull within 12-8.  However, Springfield was limited to just seven kills in the set as the Lions pulled away for a 25-17 win.

Tied at seven-all in the fourth, three-straight kills from Bancroft kickstarted a 10-2 run that was capped off by back-to-back kills from Albrecht as the Pride's cushion ballooned to 17-9. The Lyons would not go away quietly, getting within 22-21 on an ace, before a kill from Bancroft and Emerson attack error gave Springfield match point.  Emerson fought off the point with a side out kill, but a service error on the next point allowed Springfield to advance to the conference semifinals. 

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