Springfield, Mass. - September 16, 2021 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team began New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Thursday night in Blake Arena and earned a four-set win over Wheaton by the set scores of 25-15, 25-18, 16-25, 25-18.

The Pride improved to 8-0 on the season as it was once again among the teams receiving votes in this week's AVCA Division III National Coaches Poll.  The setback dropped the Lyons to 6-2 on the year.

For Springfield, Camryn Bancroft (Eastport, N.Y.) tallied a match-high 11 kills, while Ashley Tanner (Manorville, N.Y.) turned in 10 kills and seven digs.  Sara Labadorf (Huntersville, N.C.) totaled 33 assists, Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) registered nine kills, five digs, and two aces, and classmate Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) delivered seven kills and six blocks in the middle.  Hailey Deguire (Schenectady, N.Y.) had 10 digs and Briana Tovar (Tucson, Ariz.) contribued eight digs and three aces.  

Wheaton was paced by nine kills and 10 digs from Adara Hamilton, while Bailey Madrzyk chipped in eight kills.  The Lyons hit just .108 in the contest, with Zoe Franz and Hannah George combining for 26 assists to lead the attack.

In the opening frame, Springfield snagged a 9-5 lead following the Lyons third attack error of the early going as the visitors called for a timeout.  Springfield pushed its lead to 20-12 when Wixted bounced an overpass to force another Wheaton timeout before Billet would put away her fourth kill of the night for the 25-15 win.  The Pride totaled 15 kills in the opening set, led by five from Bancroft.  

Knotted at 4-4 in the second, Springfield opened up a 7-1 surge to seize control after Tanner and Wixted combined for a block coming out of a Wheaton timeout.  The Lyons would get as close as three points at 18-15 before two kills from Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.) bookended a five-point Springfield surge to give the hosts a 22-15 advantage.  The Pride would hit .476 in the frame to take a two-set lead with the 25-18 win.

The Pride made a combined 16 attack, service, and reception errors in the third set, hitting -.132 as it dropped a 25-16 decision.  Wheaton, which would hit .057 in the stanza and lead by as many as 12 points, was paced by three kills from Julianna Flack and Hamilton to pull within a set.

Tied at six in the fourth, Springfield rattled off five-straight points, capped off by an ace from Labadorf, to gain an 11-6 edge.  The Pride would push its cushion to 21-11 on a Tovar ace, and back-to-back kills from Billet completed the 25-18 victory.  Tanner was especially strong in the frame, totaling five digs and four kills. 

Springfield will play again on Saturday when it travels to face Wellesley.

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