Schenectady, N.Y. - September 11, 2021 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team continued its strong start to the 2021 campaign with victories over Skidmore and Union on Saturday afternoon.  Springfield rallied for a 25-19, 27-29, 31-33, 25-6, 15-12 win over Skidmore to start the day before turning in a 25-18, 25-21, 25-19 victory over host Union. 

The Pride, which was receiving votes in this week's AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 7-0 on the season.

On Tuesday, Springfield will begin New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play when it hosts Wheaton at 7 pm.

Springfield 3, Skidmore 2

Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) continued to stuff her stat sheet as she delivered a career-best 20 kills to go along with 14 digs and six aces, while Camryn Bancroft (Eastport, N.Y.) totaled a career-best 19 kills in the middle.  Sara Labadorf (Huntersville, N.C.) turned in a 56-assist performance and Briana Tovar (Tucson, Ariz.) produced 12 digs and five aces.

In the opening set, Springfield used a 6-3 burst to earn a 17-12 lead as Skidmore called for their first timeout of the afternoon.  The Thoroughbreds would even things up at 17, only to have the Pride score eight of the final 10 points of the set, highlighted by three Bancroft kills, to take the 25-19 win.  Billet converted for kills on all six of her swings in the frame and also totaled eight digs.

Skidmore stormed out to a 14-5 cushion in the second, but the Pride showed plenty of resolve and battled its way back to gain a 23-19 edge following a Skidmore miscue.  However, Skidmore would go on to gain three set points that the Pride would fight off before the Thoroughbreds ultimately took the 29-27 victory in a frame where neither team had a positive team hitting percentage. 

Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) put a ball away in the middle to give Springfield a 15-11 lead in the third.  However, the set would eventually feature 11 ties and nine lead changes and Skidmore would escape with a 33-31 win to take a 2-1 set lead.  Springfield bounced back in a big way in the fourth, coasting to a 25-6 win as it hit .636 as a team and was fueled by six kills and three aces from Billet.

In the fifth, Skidmore seized a 9-7 lead after a Springfield attack error, only to have the Pride use a 4-1 surge featuring two kills and a block from Billet to gain an 11-10 lead. After the Thoroughbreds scored the next two points to force the Pride into a timeout, Springfield scored the final four points of the match as Taylor Harris (Canton, Mass.) delivered a pair of huge kills to complete the five-set triumph.  

Springfield 3, Union 0

Bancroft wad dominant in the middle as she carried the offensive load for the Pride with 17 kills that came on a .625 clip in the sweep of Union.  Tovar ripped seven of Springfield's 16 service aces and Hailey Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.) had a match-best 14 digs in her homecoming. 

Thanks to strong serving from Deguire, Springfield stormed out to an 18-8 lead in the first set, but Union would battle their way back to within 18-15.  However, the Pride ended the frame on a 7-3 push, as Bancroft crushed her sixth kill of the set to conclude the 25-18 victory. 

Facing a 14-10 deficit in the second, the Pride scored 10-straight points with Casey Lambert (Barrington, R.I.) on the service line to gain a six-point edge. Bancroft would turn in six kills in the frame as Springfield took a 2-0 set lead on a kill from Billet at 25-21.

Three-consecutive aces from Tovar helped fuel a 5-0 start to the third for Springfield as it never looked back.  Mac Fornilli (Fort Belvoir, Va.) anchored the Pride's defense with eight digs in the stanza as Springfield wrapped up the three-game sweep with the 25-19 win. 

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