NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (October 21, 2025) – Smith College hit .318 as a team and delivered ten service aces and 11 blocks on its way to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-16) victory over Emerson College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball action at Ainsworth Gymnasium tonight.
First-year Alison Chapin led Smith's hot hitting night with a match-high 11 kills with just one hitting error for a .526 hitting percentage, while senior Abby Hunt hit .421 with nine kills. Sophomore Skye Higashihara engineered the Bears attack that hit .318 as a team with 20 assists, adding two service aces and six digs, while first-year Maddie Hliboki contributed 13 digs and two aces. Junior Addison Klunder chipped in eight kills with a .438 hitting percentage, nine digs and four blocks.
Sophomore Chloe Hokenson delivered 14 assists for Emerson with five kills, two service aces and four digs. First-year Shirley Yu posted a team-best seven kills, while junior Lauren Yoo posted a match-high 14 digs. First-year Lizi Horning chipped in five kills for the Lions.
Emerson held an early lead in the opening set (3-2) after a service ace by sophomore Sophia Schiappa, but Smith reeled off a 9-2 run, including five-straight points on KIunder's serve to open a lead it would not relinquish. The Lions did pull back within two (13-11) after four-straight points on Hokenson's serve after an ace and was within one (18-17) after a kill from Yu. The Bears closed out the set with a 7-2 run with Higashihara distributing two aces and a kill from three different hitters, while Chapin finished the set with seven of her 11 kills on the night.
Smith would not trail over the final two sets, building a 6-1 lead early in the second set which was paced by five kills on as many attacks by Klunder. The Bears closed out the match by using a 13-4 run that turned a two-point lead into an 11-point cushion (22-11) after a Hunt ace. She finished the set with four kills on five attacks in the frame.
Emerson (12-10, 4-4 NEWMAC) is right back in action in Western Massachusetts on Friday when it visits Amherst College for a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m. The Lions next home match is Saturday when they return to Boylston Street to host Connecticut College at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym in non-conference play at 1 p.m. Smith (16-7, 6-2 NEWMAC) visits Wesleyan University for day one of the NESCAC-NEWMAC Challenge on Friday at 7 p.m.
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