Women’s Volleyball Loses to Nationally-Ranked Wildcats

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Regis College lost to Johnson & Wales, ranked 23^rd in this week's AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 National Poll, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-8), Thursday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball match at the Wildcat Center.

Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) led the Pride with four kills, while Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) finished with three kills, three service aces, and three total blocks. Defensively, Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) paced the backline with 13 digs.

After the teams split the first six points of the match, Johnson & Wales put together a 9-1 scoring run, including two service aces by Elyssa Nicolas. The Pride scored three straight points to close to within five points, but the Wildcats closed out the set with an 8-1 scoring run.

Regis stayed right with Johnson & Wales early in the second set, tying it at 8-8, but the Wildcats took the lead for good with four unanswered points. After a service ace by Dow brought the Pride within four at 15-11, the Wildcats went on a 10-3 scoring stretch, led by three service aces from Kelly Delaney and two kills by Kate Walker, to clinch the second set.

The Pride won three of the first four points of the third set, but the Wildcats quickly gained control, collecting 17 of the next 18 points. Johnson & Wales would go on to earn five of the final six points of the set, led by three kills from Amanda Koch, to close out the match.

Walker led the Wildcat offense with nine kills as setter Brylee Frank finished with 32 assists and seven digs. Delaney contributed six kills, six service aces, and 10 digs, and Nicolas added 12 digs, three assists, and three service aces to the winning effort.

After hosting Ithaca in a non-conference match Friday evening, Johnson & Wales (21-4, 10-0 GNAC) will look to clinch the top seed in next week's GNAC Tournament Saturday as the Wildcats host a tri-match featuring Colby-Sawyer and Norwich.

Unfortunately, with Thursday night's loss, the Pride were eliminated from contention for a spot in the GNAC Tournament, as even a victory over the Anna Maria AMCATS would not be enough due to tiebreakers.

Regis (10-18, 4-7 GNAC) concludes the 2019 season by hosting its own tri-match Saturday, Nov. 2, first facing Anna Maria at 11 a.m. before taking on Salve Regina at 3 p.m. The Senior Day presentation will take place before the Anna Maria match.