WORCESTER, Mass. (September 26, 2026) – Emerson College is off to its best start in program history through 12 matches after sweeping Clark University 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-19) in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's volleyball matchup at Kneller Gymnasium this afternoon.
Emerson has won 11 of its first 12 matches for the first time in program history, surpassing a 10-1 mark to the 2022 season and now looks to better a 13-2 start in 2010. Junior Sophia Schiappa and senior Rachel Dickerson led the way for the Lions. Schiappa dished out a season-high 25 assists to go with three service aces and nine digs, while Dickerson tallied a match-high 11 kills with seven digs.
Senior Lauren Yoo served up four aces for Emerson which delivered double-digit service aces for the fifth straight match and ninth time this season overall, while adding 12 digs. Junior Sami Kim totaled a season and match-high 13 digs with two aces. Sophomore Lizi Horning chipped in eight kills, while classmate Emma Luehring posted four kills and a .429 hitting percentage with two solo blocks.
Senior Julia Dopazo led Clark with a double-double of 13 assists and ten digs, while junior Isabella Alcott totaled seven kills, two aces and six digs. Senior Harper Chinn totaled 12 digs for the Cougars.
Emerson erased an early 4-0 deficit to grab its first lead in the opening set (13-12) with a Luehring kill. The Lions closed an opening set that included seven ties and five lead changes with five-straight points on sophomore Dalena Garrett's serve, with kills from Dickerson, Luehring and sophomore Shirley Yu.
Emerson didn't trail in the second set, with the lone tie at 1-1 as the Lions opened a five-point cushion (7-2) with a Yoo ace. The Lions extended the set lead to 13 points (19-6) as Dickerson capped four-straight points on Schiappa's serve with a kill and then Horning added two kills in a three-point run to close out the set.
Emerson scored the first four points, including back-to-back Schiappa aces, to open the third set, but Clark responded with a 7-2 run for the lead after an Alcott kill (7-6). The Lions reclaimed the lead and pulled away with a 7-1 run, including six-straight points on Yoo's serve, including two aces, for a seven-point lead (23-16) they would not relinquish before Yu closed out the match with a kill.
Emerson (11-1, 2-0 NEWMAC) returns to action on Tuesday night when it hosts Salve Regina University for a NEWMAC matchup at Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Clark (4-6, 0-2 NEWMAC) visits Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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