Northampton, Mass. - Rosa Drummond and Paige Sarlandt each had 11 kills and the Smith College volleyball team opened up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-16) win over Clark University on Tuesday evening.

Smith is now 7-1 overall, and 1-0 against NEWMAC foes, while Clark drops to 5-5, with an 0-1 NEWMAC record.

The Cougars ran out to an early lead in the first set, but Smith rebounded behind the serving of Mei-Li Smith, who served three consecutive points to tie up the set, and back-to-back attack errors from Clark put Smith in front for good. 

Smith opened up an early lead in the second set, as Mei-Li Smith attacked for three straight points for a 13-6 Smith edge. Smith led by as many as seven when Drummond and Kristi Hammond combined for a block that made it 16-9.  

In set three, Smith never trailed, scoring the first three points on kills from Sarlandt, Drummond, and Hammond, and never looked back, taking a 20-8 lead on a service ace by Bethany Ashworth.

Sarlandt had a solo block and two block assists with her 11 kills, while Ashworth 28 assists, running the Smith offense.  Hammond had eight kills, 14 digs, and two block assists, and Mei-Li Smith had eight kills, nine digs, and a service ace, and Julie Voorhees piled up 15 digs.

Clark was led by Shannon Glass-Smythe (Albuquerque, N.M.), who had a team-best nine kills, while the freshman duo of Mia Cattaneo (Santa Barbara, Calif.) and Courtney Pharr (Seattle, Wash.) combined for 25 digs.

Smith will continue league play with a visit from Babson College on Saturday, September 21 at 1 p.m.  Clark will host a tri-match with Coast Guard and Keene State on Saturday.