Dickerson paced the Lions attack in match one on Saturday with 15 kills and .583 hitting percentage (PHOTO BY Doug Chin) |
BOSTON, Mass. (September 5, 2026) – Emerson College has won its first three matches of the season for the seventh time in the last ten years after sweeping its way to a pair of home wins this afternoon. The Lions opened with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15) victory over Nichols College before posting a 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-17) triumph over Simmons College at Bobbi Brown & Steven Plofker Gymnasium today. Simmons added a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-18) win over Nichols in the middle match of the tri-match.
Emerson head coach Ben Read earned his 300th career women's volleyball win with the Lions match one victory today, having now posted a 301-259 (.538) record in 20 career seasons as a women's volleyball head coach, that includes a 234-163 (.589) mark over his 15 seasons at Emerson.
Emerson 3, Nichols 0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-15)
Senior Rachel Dickerson paced the Emerson attack that posted a .349 team hitting percentage in the match with a season-high 15 kills, and just one hitting error, for a .583 hitting percentage, three service aces and nine digs. Junior Chloe Hokenson delivered 14 assists with four kills, an ace and six digs, while senior Lauren Yoo contributed 13 digs, six assists and two aces. Sophomore Lizi Horning chipped in with nine kills.
Sophomore Alyssa Morse led Nichols with nine kills and three digs, while senior Jhudny Pierre totaled seven kills with a .312 hitting percentage.
Emerson trailed just three times over the three-set match after leading wire-to-wire in taking the first set with a .414 hitting team hitting percentage (15-3-29). Horning led the way with five of her nine kills in the match during the first set, with just one error on eight total attacks (.500). Dickerson added four kills on five attacks in the set, while junior Sophia Schiappa and senior Kori Meissner each served two aces.
Dickerson posted six kills on 11 attacks (.545) to lead Emerson in the second set with three aces. The Lions took control of the set with nine-straight points on her serve, including all three of her aces in the set, for a 20-9 advantage they would not relinquish. Emerson hit .391 (12-3-23) in the third set to close the match out with Dickerson adding five kills, breaking the set open with an 8-2 run for an 18-12 lead before sealing the match and Read's 300th career win.
Hockenson engineered the Lions attack to a pair of wins and notched a double-double in match two (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard/RJBsports.com) |
Emerson 3, Simmons (25-17, 25-16, 25-18)
Chloe Hokenson finished just a dig shy of her first triple-double of the season with 13 kills and a .435 hitting percentage, 26 assists, two service aces and nine digs. Lizi Horning posted a team-high 15 kills, hitting .387, with two digs and two blocks, while first year Addie Wooten chipped in nine kills with a .375 hitting percentage and three digs. Lauren Yoo added 15 digs, six assists and an ace.
Senior Hannah Pridgeon led Simmons with five kills and seven digs, while classmate Carolina Rodriguez posted 11 digs and two assists.
Emerson trailed just once in the entire match, that coming early in the third in final set, in a match that saw the Lions hit .324 as a team with nine service aces. Emerson hit .429 behind five Horning kills on seven attacks (.714) in the opening set, with Kori Meissner serving up two aces as well. Hokenson dished up ten of her 26 assists to engineer the Emerson attack in the set. The Lions used a 10-2 run to grab control of the set before closing it out with five kills for their final five points of the frame.
Hokenson paced Emerson with eight kills without an error on 11 attacks (.727) in the second set, adding seven assists and five digs. Horning added eight kills and hit .467 to lead the Lions in the decisive third set, hitting .405 as a team (20-5-37).
Up Next:
Emerson (3-0, 0-0 NEWMAC) is back in action on Tuesday when it visits Endicott College for a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. The Lions return to Boylston Street the following Tuesday, September 15, to host Dean College in non-conference play at Brown & Plofker Gymnasium at 7 p.m. Nichols (0-3, 0-0 CNE) visits Framingham State University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Simmons (1-2, 0-0 GNAC) hosts Mount Holyoke College on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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