Springfield, Mass. – October 19, 2024 - The Springfield College women's volleyball team swept Mount Holyoke College by set scores of 25-12, 25-18, 25-20 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon in Blake Arena.

Springfield improved to 14-5 overall and to 5-2 in NEWMAC play, while Mount Holyoke dipped to 10-8, 1-6. Prior to the match, Springfield honored its five seniors Hailey Deguire (Rotterdam, N.Y.), Riley Donahue (South Windsor, Conn.), Morgan Stafford (Corbett, Ore.), Natalie Billet (Commack, N.Y.) and Kylie Wixted (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) as well as graduate student Kristen DeLorenzo (Syracuse, N.Y.) for their contributions to the women's volleyball program.

As a team, Springfield hit .346 as Donahue led the Pride with 14 kills on 25 swings. Billet posted eight kills on 17 errorless swings (.471), while Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) added seven kills and hit .429 and Maeve Voltz (Bay Shore, N.Y.) tallied six kills and hit .385. Voltz also contributed seven total blocks, while DeLorenzo dished out 30 assists and posted nine digs, and Billet registered a team-best three aces to go along with nine digs.

Springfield raced out to a 10-2 advantage in the opening set and forced Mount Holyoke to call an early timeout following an ace by Billet and a kill by Donahue. The Pride went up by as many as 11 points at 14-3 after Donahue ripped the ball off the hands of the Lyons block. Mount Holyoke got as close as nine points at 18-9, but with DeLorezno at the service line, Springfield posted five straight points capped by a block from Voltz and James. Voltz and Billet teamed up for a block on the final point as Springfield won the first, 25-12.

Donahue led the Springfield offense with six kills on ten swings and Billet registered all three of her aces in the middle set. A swing by Donahue paired with a block from Voltz and Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) the Pride again jumped out to the early 7-2 edge. The Lyons forced Springfield to call a timeout late in the stanza as the Pride led by just two at 18-16 following a pair of errors but the Pride responded by scoring seven of the final nine points of the set which was capped on a kill by Jodi Saelua (Mililani, Hawaii) for a 2-0 lead in the match.

Springfield hit a match-best .412 and posted a match-best 17 kills in the final set as the Pride secured the sweep with a 25-20 win. Mount Holyoke took an early edge at 7-4 in the stanza, but a kill by Donahue ended the run and pushed momentum back to the Pride. Back-to-back kills by Donahue made it a one point game before Springfield eventually tied the score at ten and took the lead for the final time on at 11-10 on a swing by James. Out of the timeout, Donahue ripped back-to-back kills and Stafford gave the Pride the cushion they would need on an ace en route to the 25-20 victory.

The Pride return to the court on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 against NEWMAC rival Wellesley College in Blake Arena.

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Be sure to tune into all Springfield College Athletic events by subscribing to FloSports.