Wellesley, Mass. - October 22, 2012 - Springfield College junior Tessa Smolinski earned was selected as both the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) and ECAC Division III New England Women's Volleyball Player of the Week honor after leading the Pride to a 4-0 record last week.The Hebron, Conn. native has now won the conference's weekly honor three times during the 2012 campaign.
Smolinski continued her outstanding play, helping Springfield to its first 3-0 showing at the Volleyball Hall of Fame Invitational since 2008. In four matches, she totaled 69 kills, averaging 3.83 per set while hitting .296 from the outside. She added 58 digs, averaging 3.22 per set, to go along with a team-best 10 aces.
In the Pride's 3-1 win over Smith on Tuesday, the junior posted 13 kills, seven digs, and four aces before she tallied 13 kills and 14 digs in a four-set win over Amherst on Friday.
Smolinski was tremendous in a pair of five-set wins against Williams and Middlebury on Saturday. She opened with 24 kills, hitting .373, to go along with 20 digs versus the Ephs, and then registered 19 kills and 17 digs against Middlebury.
Moira Long will enter her second season as head women's volleyball coach in the fall of 2012. Long wasted little time putting her stamp on the program, taking the Pride to the NCAA Championship Elite Eight in 2011.
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