PRIDE FIGHT OFF AMCATS RALLY, HANG ON 3-2

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but Anna Maria College rallied to force a fifth and deciding game, which the Pride won, to take a 3-2 victory over the AMCATS on Tuesday night in non-conference women's volleyball action. The Pride (7-3) used set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 24-26, 21-25, and 15-7 in the win over Anna Maria (4-2).

In the opening set, Anna Maria jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before the Pride clawed back into it with three-straight points to make it a 5-4 game. The AMCATS led 11-6 later in the set on a kill from Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.). Parker added another kill a few points later to put AMC on top 15-11, but the Pride stormed back – scoring 10 of the next 13 points, to take what seemed a commanding 21-18 lead. A pair of Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) service aces and kills from Bliss, Shay Faber (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Sydney Trusty (Durham, Conn.), and Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) all contributed to the 10-3 run.

Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.) started the comeback for Anna Maria, recording a kill on a pass from Parker. After a service error made it 22-19 in favor of the Pride, Jacqueline Clinton (Walpole, Mass.) knocked down a kill and Jessica Goulet (Lawrence, Mass.) added a solo block as part of a 3-0 spurt to tie the match at 22-all. Regis closed the match out on another Trusty kill followed by a pair of AMC errors to give the Pride the 25-22 win.

Regis came out strong in the second set as they took an early 8-3 lead following a Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) service ace. As they had done in the set before, the AMCATS bounced back with five of the next six points to tie the match at 9-9 as Clinton contributed a pair of aces during the run. Regis answered with a run of its own, going on a 6-1 streak to take a 15-10 lead and force an AMC timeout. The AMCATS clawed their way back into the game, getting as close as 23-19, but back-to-back kills from Faber and Trusty ended the second game in favor of the home team, 25-19.

With their backs against the wall, Anna Maria opened the third set by taking advantage of six Pride attack errors to jump out to an early 15-5 lead. The Pride started to chip away, and a Nicole Connolly service ace made it a 19-14 contest that forced an AMC timeout. The two teams continued to trade points, with Regis continuing to fight its way back into the game, and a Gracie Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) kill followed by two AMCATS errors gave the Pride a late 24-23 lead. A Samantha Parker block tied it at 24-all and a Pride error coupled with a block by Parker and Goulet sealed the 26-24 win for AMC, and forced a fourth game.

In the fourth set, Regis led early at 14-9, but the AMCATS tied it at 18-18 following a Pride attack error. A Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) kill preceded a Bliss service ace to put Regis on top 20-18, but the AMCATS ended the game scoring seven of the final eight points to win 25-21 and force a fifth set.

Shay Faber gave the Pride a 7-3 lead early in the fifth set, before Clinton and Telliah Bursie (Cheektowaga, N.Y.) posted two-straight kills to make it 7-5. An AMCATS error made it 8-5 and after the teams switched sides, they traded points as Jessica Goulet made it a 9-7 contest with a solo block. The Pride ended the match with six-straight points, with a Trusty kill the exclamation point, as the Pride won 15-7 and took the match 3-2.

Trusty led the Pride with 12 kills and added 10 digs, while Shay Faber had eight kills of her own. Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.), Gracie Molinari, and Sam Bliss chipped in six kills apiece, and Tina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) handed out a match-high 35 assists. Bliss also added seven service aces and 12 digs, while Nicole Connolly led the Pride defense with 13 digs on the night.

Anna Maria was led by a match-high 14 kills from Jacqueline Clinton, who also added 12 digs. Telliah Bursie posted nine kills and five total blocks. Rebecca Foti and Jessica Goulet added six kills apiece, with Goulet added infour blocks of her own. Brittany Jackson (Larchmont, N.Y.), Foti, and Samantha Parker each recorded double-digit digs on the night as Foti led the AMCATS with 15. Parker added a team-best 28 assists.

The Crimson and Gold are back in action on Thursday night when they host Lasell College at 7:00 p.m. Anna Maria looks to rebound on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. as well, hosting Lesley University.