Boston, Mass. – October 4, 2025 – The Springfield College women's volleyball team picked up a pair of road wins this afternoon in a tri-match that featured New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival, Emerson College, and non-conference foe Southern Maine.

Springfield, which improved to 15-2 overall and to 4-0 in NEWMAC play, defeated the host Lions in four sets, 23-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-20 and the Huskies 25-16, 25-8, 25-16.

Alexa Bonato (Orange, Conn.) led Springfield's offense today with a combined 15 kills in the two matches, while Ahunna James (Plainville, Mass.) and Jodi Saelua (Mililani, Hawaii) notched 14 kills apiece. Aubrey Hughes (Liberty Hill, Texas) also chipped in with 13 kills in seven sets this afternoon. Defensively, Olivia Nealy (Athens, Ga.) notched 21 digs, while James added 15 digs of her own in addition to six blocks. Tori Colosimo (Fairport, N.Y.) stuffed the stat sheet with 59 assists, eight kills, 19 digs, five blocks and five aces. 

In seven sets today, Springfield produced 28 total aces and held its opponents to an .068 hitting percentage as the Pride continue to lead the NEWMAC in that category holding its foes to just a .101 hitting percentage across 56 sets this fall.

Match One: Springfield 3, Emerson 1

The score was even at 21 late in the first set and an error by Emerson gave Springfield a 22-21 edge, but a pair of kills, an ace and a Springfield miscue secure the opening stanza for the Lions, 25-23. 

Springfield hit a match-best .423 in the second with 14 kills on 26 total swings. The score was even at 15 before an error and an ace by Hughes ignited a 7-2 run to push the Pride ahead 22-17. The spurt also featured a pair of kills by James and a block in the middle by James and Colosimo. A swing by Colosimo made it 23-18 before an ace from Karenna Allain (Woodbridge, Conn.) and a kill from Avery Chandler (Stoneville, N.C.)gave Springfield the second, 25-19.

Springfield ripped off eight straight points early in the third – a run with Chandler at the service line featured back-to-back aces from the first-year as well as kills from both Hughes and Bonato to go ahead 13-5. Then ahead 22-12 following a kill from Colosimo, Chandler put Springfield within two before back-to-back errors by Emerson gave the Pride the third, 25-13.

Emerson raced out to an 8-0 lead in the fourth, but Springfield slowly chipped away and used a two straight Lions errors and back-to-back kills from Colosimo to go ahead 13-12. Emerson went ahead again – this time 16-14 – but a lengthy run of 10-2 gave Springfield match point. One final swing by James gave Springfield the fourth, 25-20, and its fourth straight NEWMAC win.

James recorded ten of her 14 kills on the day against Emerson.

Match Two: Springfield 3, Southern Maine 0

Springfield hit a season-best .431 as a team against Southern Maine and produced 36 kills on just 65 swings to sweep the Huskies this afternoon. The balanced Pride offense tallied 12 kills in each of the three sets with Emily Keaveney (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Bonato and Hughes all chipping in with seven kills apiece. 

Southern Maine took an early 4-2 lead in the first before and error and a kill by Saelua ignited a run of eight straight Springfield points. The Huskies got back within one and then later trailed by just three at 18-15, but Saelua and Bonato set up a 7-1 set-ending run that was completed by one final swing by Bonato to give the Pride a 25-16 victory in the first.

Springfield scored the first eight points of the second – six of which came on kills, one on an error and one on a Colosimo ace and never looked back. The Pride went ahead 16-2 following a run that featured five aces from Keaveney and eventually won the second 25-8 as the stanza was capped on back-to-back aces from Allain.

In a much closer third that saw Springfield hit .455, the Pride held a 20-16 edge before scoring the final five points of the match. A kill from James began the match-ending run before a block by Saelua and a final swing by Keaveney secured the third, 25-16, and the sweep.

Springfield returns home on Tuesday for a NEWMAC match against Wheaton at 7:00 pm.

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