Pride Volleyball Defeats Emmanuel, Nearly Rallies Against Norwich

BOSTON, Mass. – Regis College overcame slow starts in both of its matches Saturday, defeating Emmanuel College, 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-22), and rallying from a 2-0 deficit to tie Norwich University, but the Cadets won the fifth set for a 3-2 win (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 24-26, 15-9), in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball action at Andy Yosinoff Court.

Regis 3, Emmanuel 1

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) notched her 13^th double-double of the season, leading the Pride with 12 kills and 16 digs, plus she earned five block assists. Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) hit .400 in the match as she earned 11 kills and three total blocks, while Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) collected eight kills and Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.) added seven kills. Defensively, Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) led the Pride at the net with eight total blocks, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 13 digs.

Emmanuel (7-18, 2-7 GNAC) opened an 11-5 lead in the first set thanks to a 9-2 scoring run, led by Marissa Cataldo and Isabella Miller with two kills apiece. Regis closed to within two twice, the second time at 14-12 on a service ace by van der Meulen, but the Saints responded with six unanswered points, including two service aces by Miller and two kills from Emma Fenton. Emmanuel would clinch the opening set on a kill by Molly Michaud.

The Pride scored the first three points of the second set and eventually held a five-point lead at 13-8, but the Saints scored four straight points, capped by a block from Michaud and Fenton, to close to within one at 13-12. After Regis responded with four unanswered points, Emmanuel put together an 8-3 scoring run, punctuated by a service ace from Miller, to open a 24-22 advantage.

A kill by van der Meulen and consecutive service aces from Meg Adams (Ware, Mass.) put the Pride back on top at 25-24, but a Regis service error extended the set further. The Pride would finally close out the second set on a kill by Veasey and a block by Butt.

Two kills by Dow led the Pride as they won five of the first six points of the third set, but once again Emmanuel answered later in the set, scoring four straight points to close to within one at 12-11. Regis slowly extended its lead back to five at 23-18, but the Saints again scored four straight points to cut their deficit back to one. Dow helped Regis clinch the set with a kill and a block assist along with Veasey.

In the fourth set, two kills apiece from Cataldo and Elizabeth Syverson allowed the Saints to open an early 7-3 lead, but Regis responded with an 11-2 scoring run, led by Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.) with three kills and a block assist. Down 14-9 after a kill by Dow, Emmanuel went on an 8-3 scoring stretch, led by four kills from Cataldo, to tie the set at 17-17.

The teams split the next six points before Regis took the lead for good on a kill by van der Meulen and two kills from Dow. The Pride closed out the fourth set and the match on a block by Veasey and Butt.

Cataldo led the Saints with 16 kills, while Syverson earned nine kills and three total blocks. Both setters notched double-doubles, as Jalen Winfrey earned 20 assists and 11 digs and Rachel Coleman finished with 19 assists and 12 digs. Samantha Carrigan led Emmanuel with 16 digs and four service aces.

Norwich 3, Regis 2

Veasey increased her 2019 double-double total to 14 with 17 kills and 12 digs, including the 1,000^th dig of her collegiate career, the second player in program history to reach that milestone. Whalen earned 11 kills and six digs as Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) collected 22 assists and eight digs and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) added 18 assists, five digs, and two service aces. Defensively, Butt again led at the net with four total blocks, while Adams paced the backline with 15 digs, followed by Luinet Melendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) with 10 digs.

The Pride were ahead 23-17 in the first set before Norwich rattled off eight straight points to take the early lead. The Cadets collected 10 unanswered points midway through the second set on their way to winning it and taking a 2-0 match lead.

Down 18-10 in the third set, Regis battled back, scoring eight straight points to pull into an 18-18 tie. After three straight kills by Whalen gave the Pride a 22-21 advantage, Norwich tied the set at 22-22 on a kill by Julia Schroeder. Regis won three of the final four points of the third set on kills by Whalen and Veasey as well as a Cadet error.

Regis won the first three points of the fourth set, but Norwich won the next five points, led by three kills from Kathryn Farnum. The Pride responded with a 7-2 scoring run to retake the lead, extending it to four at 20-16 on kills by Veasey and Pelland. The Cadets took advantage of three consecutive Pride errors to take a 24-23 lead and serve for the match, but a kill by Whalen followed by back-to-back Norwich errors clinched the fourth set for the Pride.

Norwich (14-9, 6-3 GNAC) put together a 7-1 scoring run in the deciding fifth set to open a 10-5 advantage. Regis closed to within three on kills by Veasey and Butt, but the Cadets held off the Pride comeback, as Michele Zummo earned two kills, Sarah Farnum picked up a service ace, and Marissa Perrotti closed out the match with a kill.

Kathryn Farnum led the Cadets with 20 kills along with 18 digs, while Zummo finished with 19 kills and six digs. Sarah Farnum collected 53 assists, four kills, and four service aces, Schroeder contributed nine kills, three service aces, and 11 digs, and Brianna Dawson led all played with 30 defensive digs.

Regis (10-16, 4-5 GNAC) begins the final week of the regular season with a home match against Rivier Tuesday night, Oct. 29, starting at 7 p.m.