Mark Loiselle
Staff Writer
In commanding fashion, the Springfield College women’s volleyball team blossomed with a 3-0 victory against Clark University on Tuesday.
After coming off a tremendous performance in this weekend’s MIT Invitational, the Pride knew that there was a sense of urgency against a team with only eight players on the roster.
Right from the outset, junior outside hitter Tessa Smolinski established her presence around the net using her fundamentally sound mentality posting five kills in the first set. She went on to finish the game with 13 kills on 21 attempts, as well as nine digs.
Opportunities came also for sophomore setter Molly Giannattassio. She distributed the ball on all aspects of the court from the outsides to the middle. Chemistry was building between Giannattassio and senior middle blocker Mary Consol and her outside hitters. Consol also put on an impressive display, tallying 11 kills.
“It takes a lot of practice, as well as time,” Giannattassio stated with enthusiasm. “Throughout practice we work on our timing. We have one of the fastest tempos in our conference.”
While there was a takeover mentality on Springfield’s side, Clark University came storming back in the second game. Cougars’ outside hitter Shannon Glass-Smythe recorded 14 kills throughout the match. Holding off the rally, Springfield successfully came out on top in the second set.
The third set allowed the Pride to utilize some of their players and exercise their substitutions. Players like senior serving specialist Lindsay Runge connected for five aces, freshman outside hitter Danielle Crismani recorded six kills, and Libero Amy Entel contributed nine digs in the victory.
“It’s always great to give them the opportunity. Players who are really contributing to our success in practice everyday,”Springfield Coach Moira Long commented.
Springfield will now have a week off from volleyball, but they won’t take it as a vacation as Coach Long wants to keep the train rolling when they go up against Mount Holyoke College (2-5) on Oct. 2.
“We are going to work really hard for the next couple of days,” the second-year coach added with determination. “We are gonna have the weekend off, it is something we really need mentally. Then we want to come back and be ready to roll for the rest of the season.”