BOSTON, Mass. – The #4 ranked Simmons Volleyball team fell to the #1 Emerson College Lions Thursday night in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference semifinals. The Lions defeated the Sharks in four, with scores of 25-15, 25-16, 24-26 and 25-15. The win puts the Lions in the GNAC Finals where they'll face the Rivier Raiders.

Simmons came out on fire, jumping ahead 5-1 in the set, but the Lions responded, hitting .229 attack percentage as a team. Madeleine Breeland was stellar with a .400 average and four kills, while Alexa Krakowiak posted a solid block to start a run to a 25-16 win.

The Lions again found themselves down early but made a comeback to take the second set 25-16. Senior Meaghan Flynn (Laguna Beach, Calif.) posted 23 kills and a 0.276 hitting percentage to lead the Sharks offense. Setter Rachel Dufault (Westport, Mass.) contributed with 38 assists.

Determined not to head home in a sweep, the Sharks played the set of their season as they battled the Lions off nine tie scores and four lead changes in the set. The crowd was electric in the Brown-Plofker Gym, with the fan faithful for both sides starting to get rowdy. In the end Flynn made her mark on the court with an impressive eight kills as Simmons edged out the Lions 26-24 to stay alive. Rossi Fish (N. Attleboro, Mass.) came up big for the Sharks in the late points, posting a 0.375 hitting percentage and adding a big block on a powerful Emerson offense.

The Lions pulled ahead early in the fourth set, defeating the Sharks 25-15 for the win. Junior Kelly Last posted 15 digs in a strong defensive effort and libero Kina Kamien (Salem, N.H.) posted 18 digs.

The Sharks finish their 2011 campaign with an overall record of 20-10, more than doubling their win percentage from last season.