Norton, Mass. - September 15, 2022 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team began New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Thursday evening with a four-set victory against Wheaton College.  The Pride won by the scores of 22-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20. 

The win boosts the Pride's mark to 6-1, 1-0 in conference play, while Wheaton drops to 4-3, 0-1.

Springfield would earn an 8-6 lead to begin the match after a block from Elsie Phillips (Granby, Conn.) and Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.), only to have the hosts use an 8-3 spurt to gain a 14-11 lead of their own.  Phillips would later commit in the middle for a stuff block to knot the set at 19, only to have Wheaton the next four points to seize momentum en route to the 25-22 win.

The Pride's offense totaled 14 kills at a .542 hitting percentage in the second set and the visitors snagged a 10-2 advantage to start the set after Megan Kirtyan (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) delivered an ace out of a Wheaton timeout.  Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) would account for five kills in the set, with her fifth coming in transition off a great feed from Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) for the 25-16 victory.  

Abigail Wright (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) was able to drop in an ace at 9-5 in the third to cap off a four-point burst by the Pride as Wheaton burned an early timeout.  With the score even at 22-apiece, Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) found the back corner for a kill, and following a Wheaton attack error, Donahue and Olivia Gentry (Loveland, Ohio) combined for a huge block on the pin to complete the 25-22 victory. 

After falling behind 9-6 in the fourth, the Pride scored four-straight points, as a kill from Voltz forced Wheaton into a timeout. The Lyons would respond and regain a 16-12 cushion, but the Pride would pour on an 11-2 surge, capped off by a kill and ace from Donahue to make it 22-17. Springfield would pull away with a 25-20 win to complete the four-set victory.

Donahue finished the match with a team-best 11 kills at a .409 clip and tacked on four blocks, three aces, and five digs.  Townsend was credited with a match-best 14 digs, and Kirtyan totaled 23 assists, five kills, five digs, and three aces. 

Springfield will continue conference play on Saturday when it hosts Wellesley at 1 pm. 

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