Women's Volleyball Cruises Past Wheaton, 3-0
Box Score
NORTON, Mass. -- September 12, 2007 -- The Springfield College women's volleyball team earned its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory of the season after defeating Wheaton, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon. The win brings the Pride's record to 6-3, 1-1 on the season while Wheaton falls to 9-2, 1-1 in conference play.
The Pride topped the Lyons in three games by the scores of 30-18, 30-19, 30-25. The Pride snapped Wheaton's longest winning streak since 1997 with the win.
Wheaton hung around in game one, trailing 11-7, before Springfield scored four straight points to lead by eight. The visitors pushed their advantage to double figures shortly thereafter and capped the victory thanks to a pair of late-game kills from freshman Bethany Stosz (Amherst, Mass.).
Springfield tallied the first five points in game, two behind the service of junior Jessica Baldwin (Fairport, N.Y.), and never relinquished its lead. The Lyons drew within one on two occasions, including the latter at 9-8, but the Pride slowly pulled away. Holding a 24-18 advantage, Springfield scored six of the contest's final seven points, including the game-winner off a kill by freshman Paige Babcock (Niantic, Conn).
Baldwin steered the Pride to a 3-0 lead in game three with strong service, and Springfield eventually pushed its lead to double digits before Wheaton made one final rally. Trailing 25-15, the Lyons went on an 8-0 run to whittle their deficit to two, but Springfield finished strong with five of the game's last seven points. Stosz was credited with the game-winning kill to complete the sweep.
Stosz led the way for Springfield with 12 kills while Aylene Ilkson (Baldwin, N.Y.) chipped in with nine kills. Baldwin led the Pride's defensive effort on the afternoon with 15 digs.
The Pride return to action when it takes on conference-foe Smith on Tuesday evening in Northampton. First-serve is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Team Links
- 2008 Schedule
- 2008 Roster
- 2007 Statistics
- 2008 JV Schedule
- Photo Gallery
- Recruiting Brochure (.pdf)
- NEWMACsports.com
- Recruit Me!
- Team Archives
Head Coach Joel Dearing
Joel Dearing will enter his 20th season as head women's volleyball coach at his alma mater in the fall of 2008. Dearing is regarded nationally as one of the sport’s best coaches and he has the resume to prove it. Dearing ranks in the top-10 in Division III history with a 638-293 (.685) overall mark in 27 seasons as a women’s volleyball coach.
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