Springfield, Mass. - September 27, 2022- Playing its second nationally-ranked conference opponent of the season, the Springfield College women's volleyball team was defeated by No. 17 MIT in straight sets in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play.  The scores in favor of the Engineers were 25-17, 25-13, 25-22. 

MIT entered the contest ranked 17th in the latest AVCA Division III National Poll and moved to 12-1, 5-0 with the win.  Springfield, which was also receiving votes in the national poll, slipped to 8-3, 2-2. 

Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) finished with a team-best 10 kills and Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.) contribued nine kills and 12 digs.  Ally Townsend (Hummelstown, Pa.) had a match-high 14 digs, and Jamie Albrecht (Selden, N.Y.) chipped in four kills and four blocks.  

Lilly Edwards paced MIT with 11 kills, Ella Gragg chipped in 10, and Lauren Keller tacked on nine.  Sofie Kupiec had 37 assists in leading the visitors to a .295 hitting percentage, and Emma Suh scooped up 14 digs.

The hosts opened up a 9-5 lead to start the match, only to have MIT pour on an 8-1 run to gain the lead for good as the visitors ran away with the 25-17 first-set win. MIT's offense was outstanding in the second set as it produced 17 kills at a .640 clip. After Albrecht converted for a kill to give Springfield a 6-5 lead, MIT put together a 7-1 surge to gain a 12-7 cushion.  Fueled by five kills from Edwards, MIT would take a 2-0 lead in the match with its 25-13 win.

The third set featured 11 ties and five lead changes, as Billet crushed a ball down the line in transition to give the Pride a 16-15 lead.  MIT would respond with a 6-0 surge as the visitors took advantage of four Springfield miscues.  The hosts would get as close as 22-20 on a kill by Donahue, but MIT would hang on for the 25-22 win to complete the sweep. 

On Saturday, Springfield will travel to WPI for a 1 pm conference contest. 

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