The Emerson women’s volleyball team played a special match to end the regular season, taking on the Salve Regina Seahawks Saturday. Not only did the team honor its four seniors and one graduate student—Bella Bowler, Amelia Combs, Parker Cummings, Brooke Maynez, and fifth-year Caroline Davis—on Senior Day, but they battled for the eighth and final spot in the NEWMAC playoffs.
The Lions and Seagulls opened the match exchanging points until a Cummings kill gave Emerson a 4-3 lead. The Lions scored three points in succession to go up 7-3, but the Seahawks responded with three of their own to cut the deficit back to one. Emerson separated themselves once more, capped off by an energetic rally and emphatic block by Maynez, which put the Lions up 10-7 and sent the Brown-Plofker crowd into a roar. As the Seahawks chipped away at Emerson’s lead, the Lions maintained their composure. Two aces by first-year setter Chloe Hokenson led to a 16-11 Emerson advantage and a timeout by Salve Regina. The Lions never looked back out of that timeout, outscoring the Seahawks 9-1 to win the first set, 25-12.
Emerson came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second set. They led 8-3 after Hokenson set up Combs for a kill. Salve Regina stormed back, however, scoring three unanswered to make it an 8-6 deficit. Later on, another eventful rally was ended by a Maynez spike that made the gym erupt once more, and the Lions led 14-10. After going up 20-14, the Seahawks responded and eventually tied the set at 22. Salve Regina regained the lead following an attack error by the Lions, but a Combs kill and Davis ace set the Lions up for set point, 24-23. Davis recorded the winning ace to give the Lions a 2-0 lead, putting them on the playoffs’ doorstep.
“We died a little bit, not gonna lie,” Maynez joked. “Our energy got a little low. We do that from time to time, we just get ahead of ourselves … At the end of the set, we cleaned it up, and within those last two points, we kept [the lead].”
The third set began similarly to the first, but this time, Salve Regina managed to go up 8-4 early in the period. Emerson battled back and tied the game at 8 with a double block by first-year middle hitter Lorena Rivera and second-year setter Mia Rodriguez. Rodriguez and Maynez blocked another Seahawk attack to give Emerson an 11-10 lead. Another Cummings kill and ace by first-year setter Sophia Schiappa brought the Lions up 13-10, forcing Salve Regina to regroup in a timeout. The Lions scored two more points before the Seahawks recorded consecutive kills for a 15-13 deficit.
After another exchange of points, a Seahawk spike cut Emerson’s lead back to one, 18-17. Maynez responded with another powerful kill, sparking another Lion run of three unanswered points. With Emerson leading 21-17, Salve Regina converted another kill to keep themselves in the game. Combs contributed another two kills to get the Lions closer to a sweep, and a block and kill by Rodriguez gave the Lions set point, 24-20. Following a service error by Schiappa, Emerson shut the door on Salve Regina with a dynamic kill by Maynez. The Lions completed the sweep, taking set No. 3, 25-21.
Combs led the way with 15 kills for the Lions, while Cummings and Maynez tallied 10 and seven, respectively. Cummings also led the team in aces with five, and Hokenson recorded a team-high 32 assists. Defensively, Davis led the Lions in digs with eight, and Maynez led them in blocks with five.
“Some of the second and third [sets] wasn’t the cleanest, but we found a way to win—which hasn’t been [on] our side for much of the season,” head coach Ben Read said. “I’m really happy with how we turned that around. It was essentially a playoff game.”
Maynez was everywhere on the court, whether she was delivering strong attacks or stifling Salve Regina’s attempts. She said those skills have come from learning what it means to be a utility player, going from playing middle hitter in high school to switching across the front row at Emerson.
“You have to play everywhere, you have to be a good all-around player,” Maynez said. “That’s what makes a great volleyball player, and I’m gonna leave this program knowing I accomplished that and have just grown from high school.”
When reflecting on the last four years, Maynez and Bowler said they’ll remember the team’s familial aspect.
“Emerson women’s volleyball is a family in ways where a bunch of amazing women come together and play the sport that they love,” Bowler said. “These girls that I’ve met for these four years are gonna be people I hold onto for the rest of my life.”
“The first week, I had a conversation with coach Read, and I cried, because I was so happy to be here and be a part of this welcoming team,” Maynez remembered. “They welcomed me with open arms. In high school, I didn’t have the best volleyball experience with the coach, and I came in here, and it was a family immediately. [I] had 18 sisters, and to this day, every year, I get a new sister.”
“They’ve been a huge part of our program, a huge part of our success,” Read said. “To be in [the] playoffs all four years they’ve been here … You look at our offense, we’re literally setting 75% of our kills through our hitters. Then you got a NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Year and someone that’s top of the conference in digs. We’re losing a heck of a lot.”
The Lions face a red-hot MIT squad on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. in the first round of the NEWMAC postseason. The Engineers—ranked No. 4 in the country—earned the top seed behind an 11-0 regular season.
“They’re unbelievable, but we’re really excited about showing what we can do with this group and how we’re here to compete,” Read said.
He added that service line execution will be key toward putting up a fight.
“Last time, we served very well and got them really out of system—probably the most they’ve seen all season, to be honest,” he added. “They just hit so well.”
Read also mentioned an area of adversity the team has fought through all year: injuries.
“We found out that day that one of our starters wasn’t going to be playing due to injury, thought she might be back a couple weeks later, and [she] had to miss the whole season,” he said. “We’ve been playing through a lot of injuries the whole season, very short-staffed. This team has just rallied.”
Whenever the Brown-Plofker Gym grew silent Saturday, fans could hear Maynez telling her teammates, “Let’s work!” Asked about the work the Lions must do against MIT, Maynez said it comes down to the team’s energy.
“That’s what we talk about every single day,” she added. “We need to bring energy, and we also need to stay disciplined. In that second set, we really stayed disciplined those last five points to be our game … Especially when we’re down, having that energy and that hope to carry us through the end of the game and lead us to victory, just really helps our team.”
But even when facing the three-peating NEWMAC champions, Read and his team remain unfazed.
“There’s a chance [MIT] could run the table and not lose a game all season. We would love to play spoiler,” Read said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. We go out there with that mindset, just have fun, do our best, [and] we’re gonna make a game out of it.”
