Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Northampton, MA --- WPI battled back from a pair of early-set setbacks to capture the third set, but No. 24 Smith answered in the fourth to hand the Engineers a 3-1 NEWMAC setback on Tuesday evening inside Ainsworth Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers prevailed 25-20, 25-17, 22-25 and 25-12 to improve to 16-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play. The Engineers slip to 8-8 on the season and 2-3 in the NEWMAC.
 
Olivia Hutchinson (Erie, PA) paced the Crimson and Gray with nine kills while hitting .389 and adding three blocks and 11.5 points. Zeala VanDamme (San Diego, CA) also registered nine kills while hitting .438 and adding three blocks, while Anastasia Kelnik (Fair Lawn, NJ) contributed nine kills, two block assists and 11 points.
 
Smith jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the opening set before WPI began to chip away. The Engineers pulled within 17-12 on a Hutchinson kill, but the Pioneers answered with a pair of points and maintained their advantage before closing out the opening frame, 25-20.

The Pioneers again established control in the second set, turning an 8-8 contest into a 17-8 advantage. WPI battled back to make it 17-9 and later trimmed the deficit to 23-17, but Smith scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead.
 
WPI responded with its best volleyball of the night in the third set. Smith built a 16-8 advantage before the Engineers began their comeback. WPI scored three straight points to make it 16-11, then added another point to pull within 16-12. After Smith moved back ahead 17-11, WPI continued to battle, eventually tying the set at 21-21 on a pair of Lauren Boycourt (San Diego, CA) service aces. Anastasia Kelnik then put WPI ahead 23-22 before Bridget Spees (Saint Johns, FL) delivered consecutive kills to finish the 25-22 comeback.
 
Smith regained control in the fourth set, scoring nine straight points to turn a 7-4 advantage into a 16-4 cushion. WPI continued to fight, with Hutchinson producing three kills during the frame and Ariana Tapia-Stridiron (Raleigh, NC) adding a block and an ace. The Pioneers, however, closed out the 25-12 set to secure the match.
 
Spees finished with seven kills and a team-high 16 digs, while Boycourt handed out 17 assists, collected 11 digs and served three aces. Jennah DiMartino (Mission Viejo, CA) added 13 digs, and Amelia Lynch (Charlottesville, VA) contributed 13 assists.

Alison Chapin (Temecula, CA) led Smith with 18 kills while hitting .390, while Anna Feuer (Frederick, MD) added 15 kills and hit .444 with three blocks. Skye Higashihara (Honolulu, HI) directed the Smith attack with 26 assists, while Ruth Tullis (Edmond, OK) recorded 18 digs.
 
The Crimson and Gray hit .220 as a team, recording 42 kills, seven aces, 60 digs and six total blocks. Smith hit .276 with 59 kills, 10 aces, 60 digs and five blocks.

WPI is off for a week, returning to the court in New London, CT, on Tuesday, October 13th, squaring off with Mitchell at 2pm before heading across the city to tangle with Connecticut College at 6pm. A road Saturday tri-match in Newton awaits Smith, which faces New England College at 1pm before taking on host Lasell at 3pm.