Women’s Volleyball advances to Great Northeast Athletic Conference Finals

The Emerson Women’s Volleyball team beat Simmons in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals Thursday, taking the match in four with scores of 25-16, 25-16, 24-26, and 25-15. The win puts the Lions in the Finals where they will face the Rivier College Raiders. That game will take place this Saturday at 1:00 pm on the home court of the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym.

Thursday’s win pushed Emerson to 24-7 for the year and 2-0 in postseason, while Simmons dropped to 20-10 and 1-1 postseason.

The Lions started set one off a bit sluggish, as Simmons jumped ahead 5-1 in the set, but the Lions offense kicked into gear with a .229 attack percentage as a team. Madeleine Breeland helped lead the team to a 25-16 win with a .400 attack average and four kills. Alexa Krakowiak put up a block assist.

The Lions also won the second set 25-16, this time hitting slightly better with a .237 attack percentage. Breeland had an even bigger set, with a .667 attack percentage. Another stand-out, Kat Rice, had a .444 attack percentage and five kills. Four Emerson players put up block assists to make it a 2-0 Emerson lead.

Simmons, determined not to head home in a sweep in the third set, battled the Lions off nine tie scores and four lead changes in the set. The Brown-Plofker Gym crowd, rooting for both teams, cheered enthusiastically. In the end, Simmons player Meaghan Flynn’s eight kills helped Simmons squeak out a 26-24 win in the set to stay alive.

The Lions came back strong in the fourth set, though, with a .286 clip. Kat Rice unleashed a .750 attack percentage and Jaime Morgan had four digs in the set, 19 total in the match, with Emerson rolling to a 25-15 final, and taking the match.