Volleyball hosts Hall of Fame, junior named to All-Tournament team
Amy Yee
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Sports
Last Friday and Saturday, Smith Volleyball hosted the gold bracket of the Hall of Fame Invitational. While the Pioneers ultimately fell in all three of their matches over the weekend, Smith outside hitter Laurel Belton '11 was named to the All-Tournament team with three outstanding performances.
In their first match Friday night, the eighth-seeded Pioneers faced off against the number one Tufts Jumbos, ultimately falling three sets to one (25-11, 17-25, 26-24, 25-12). Belton led the team with 24 digs and six service aces.
Setters Courtney Faria '12 and Lauren Martinez '11 combined for a total 28 assists. Defensive specialist Brianne Connizzo '10 added 19 digs and a pair of service aces.
On Saturday, the Pioneers fell in three straight sets (25-9, 25-12, 25-20) to the Brandeis Judges. Belton added 12 more digs and seven kills to her weekend total.
Senior co-captains Bethany Weiss and Mikal Minarich contributed four kills and 11 digs, respectively. Junior Shakwana Etienne also had four kills, while Faria added seven digs.
In Smith's final match of the tournament Belton racked up 24 digs, eight kills and three services aces. Minarich and Martinez added 15 digs each; Minarich also had 13 kills. However, the Pioneers stumbled in three of the game's four sets, losing to the Springfield College Pride 25-14, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-15.
In the championship match, Tufts swept the Williams Ephs 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19 to take the 2009 Hall of Fame Tournament title. The Jumbos' Dena Feiger was named tournament MVP, with 45 assists, 13 digs and one service ace.
Audrey Kuan (21 digs) and Caitlin Updike (13 kills, two services aces) were other notable performers for Tufts.
Williams standouts included Andrea Scioscia (19 digs), Haley Eagon (29 assists) and Kate Anderson (11 kills).
In their first match Friday night, the eighth-seeded Pioneers faced off against the number one Tufts Jumbos, ultimately falling three sets to one (25-11, 17-25, 26-24, 25-12). Belton led the team with 24 digs and six service aces.
Setters Courtney Faria '12 and Lauren Martinez '11 combined for a total 28 assists. Defensive specialist Brianne Connizzo '10 added 19 digs and a pair of service aces.
On Saturday, the Pioneers fell in three straight sets (25-9, 25-12, 25-20) to the Brandeis Judges. Belton added 12 more digs and seven kills to her weekend total.
Senior co-captains Bethany Weiss and Mikal Minarich contributed four kills and 11 digs, respectively. Junior Shakwana Etienne also had four kills, while Faria added seven digs.
In Smith's final match of the tournament Belton racked up 24 digs, eight kills and three services aces. Minarich and Martinez added 15 digs each; Minarich also had 13 kills. However, the Pioneers stumbled in three of the game's four sets, losing to the Springfield College Pride 25-14, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-15.
In the championship match, Tufts swept the Williams Ephs 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19 to take the 2009 Hall of Fame Tournament title. The Jumbos' Dena Feiger was named tournament MVP, with 45 assists, 13 digs and one service ace.
Audrey Kuan (21 digs) and Caitlin Updike (13 kills, two services aces) were other notable performers for Tufts.
Williams standouts included Andrea Scioscia (19 digs), Haley Eagon (29 assists) and Kate Anderson (11 kills).
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