REGIS SWEPT BY #24 MIT IN NCAA FIRST ROUND

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Regis College women's volleyball team was swept by the No. 24 nationally ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3-0 (18-25, 17-25, 13-25) in the opening round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament on Friday night in Rockwell Cage. With the win, the host Engineers improve to 29-3 and will square off against Amherst College at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday while the Pride fell in the First Round for the second straight year close the campaign with a 22-11 mark.

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With the first set tied at seven, a kill by sophomore Lisette Tellez (Miami, Fla.) started a 5-1 spurt for MIT. However, two miscues by the hosts brought Regis within two (12-10). The Engineers responded with a kill from sophomore Clare Farley (La Jolla, Calif.), helping them gradually increase their margin to 16-11, prompting a timeout by Regis. After the break the Pride capitalized on two MIT errors and a block by freshman Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas) and sophomore Sydney Trusty (Durham, Conn.) to once again close the gap to two (16-14). This was as close as it would get as a kill from junior Megan Gebhard (Howell, Mich.) sparked an 8-3 run with an ace by classmate Jennie Glerum (Redmond, Wash.), giving the Engineers set point at 24-17. A setting error extended the frame but an ensuing serving miscue secured the win for MIT.

After trading points to start the second stanza, freshman Abby Bertics's (La Jolla, Calif.) kill sparked a 10-1 run that established a 15-6 lead for the Engineers. Following its own timeout, Regis gradually closed the gap to 22-17 courtesy of five unanswered points. A serving error stopped the late rally as MIT closed out the frame with an ace by freshman Christina Liao (Warren, N.J.) and a kill by fellow rookie Kerrie Greene (Alpharetta, Ga.).

The Engineers raced out to a 16-6 advantage in the final frame, prompting the Pride to use its final timeout of the set. Once action resumed, Regis put together a 6-1 spurt as a block by sophomores Haley Schulte (Fullerton, Calif.) and Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) brought it within 17-12. After trading a few sideouts, aces from Davanzo sandwiched two hitting errors to wrap up the match.

Gebhard led all players with 11 assists and added two blocks while Davanzo produced seven kills, a .500 hitting performance, and two aces. Tellez compiled 19 digs and six kills as junior Tori Wuthrich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) collected 15 digs. Farley bolstered the back row with 13 digs while Bertics and senior Meryl Gibbs (Bellaire, Texas) both contributed two blocks. Glerum finished with two aces as freshman Fiona Tanuwidjaja (Renton, Wash.) registered 33 assists and eight digs.

Trusty paced the Pride with five kills and two aces as Connolly and sophomore Emily DeBarros (Brockton, Mass.) both tacked on four kills. Sophomore Shay Faber (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led the way with 12 digs, followed by nine from freshman Caroline Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) and sophomore Crystina Lathrop (Houston, Texas).

Release Courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Athletic Communications