NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Union College women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) match to Smith College in non-conference action on Friday night at Ainsworth Gymnasium.
 
Junior Nikki Newcomer led Union (8-6) on the evening with a match-high 11 kills on .381 hitting, but no teammate had more than six kills on the night as the team hit .127 for the match.
 
Although Smith led for the majority of the opening set, Union stayed close and used a 5-0 run to get within a point at 16-15 after a pair of aces by sophomore Morgan Napier and a kill from junior Keara Page. But up two at 20-18, Smith scored five straight points to pull out the win.
 
Union came out quickly and led for a large part of the second set, building up a 17-15 lead thanks to an ace and kill by first-year Shannon McGrath and a kill by senior Julia Webster. However, Smith once again surged ahead late, scoring the final seven points as part of a 10-2 run that put the home team up by two sets.
 
Smith pulled ahead a little earlier in the third frame, using a 6-1 run to take a 16-10 advantage. Union got within three points on several occasions, but could not make a sustained push to get back to even as Smith finished off the sweep.
 
Union will return to action tomorrow at Suffolk University, taking on the host Rams at 11 a.m. and Fitchburg State University at 1 p.m.