Cambridge, Mass. - October 22, 2022 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team was swept by both Williams and Middlebury in the New England Challenge on Saturday at MIT.

With the two losses, Springfield is now 16-7 on the year heading into the final week of the regular season. For her play throughout the weekend, Springfield's Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) was named to the All-Tournament Team. 

Springfield will play its last conference regular-season match on Tuesday evening when it hosts Smith at 7 pm. 

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Williams 3, Springfield 0 (28-26, 25-17, 25-23)

In their first match of the day, Springfield was paced by Donahue's 11 kills, while Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) led all players with 17 digs.  Springfield was limited to a .133 hitting percentage on the day. 

In the opening set, the Pride owned a 15-9 edge after a kill from Donahue and looked poised to take the opening set after an Ephs attack error allowed Springfield to take a 20-16 advantage. However, the Pride would commit five errors as part of a 6-2 push by Williams as the frame became knotted up at 22-all. Springfield would secure a pair of set points, the last at 25-24 on a kill from Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.), only to have Williams use a 4-1 push to rally for a 28-26 victory. 

Williams seized a 10-4 lead to begin the second set and would go on to lead by as many as eight points en route to a 25-17 win as the Ephs totaled 11 kills at a .346 clip in the frame. 

It was a back-and-forth third set in the early going before Springfield was able to secure a 17-15 edge following a Williams miscue. However, the Ephs would respond with a 5-1 push to regain a two-point edge of their own, only to have Donahue convert for a kill to even the set up at 23-23.  Williams would then use a kill and ace to seal the non-conference sweep. 

Middlebury 3, Springfield 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-17)

Donahue again led the way with a match-high 12 kills, while Townsend produced 11 digs and Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) notched six blocks.  

Middlebury raced out to a 6-1 lead to begin the match as Springfield called for an early timeout, only to have the Panthers push their lead to 17-10.  However, Springfield showed plenty of toughness and put together a 10-2 surge to earn their first lead of the game at 20-19.  The Pride would maintain a 23-22 edge off a kill from Voltz, but a Springfield service error and consecutive kills from Middlebury allowed the Panthers to rally for the 25-23 win.  

After totaling 14 kills in the opening set, Springfield managed just six in the second set as it hit -.029. Holding onto an 11-10 lead, Middlebury put together a 9-4 push to take control en route to the 25-16 victory.

Another fast start from Middlebury in the third gave them a 7-2 lead in the early going, but the Pride would battle back to within 13-12 on a kill from Olivia Gentry (Loveland, Ohio).  However, Middlebury answered with the next six points and would pull away with the 25-17 win as it collected 14 kills at a .393 clip in the final set.