Pride Volleyball Breaks Through with Two Wins Saturday

QUINCY, Mass. – After two tough five-set losses, including one Friday night, Regis College bounced back in a big way Saturday afternoon, defeating both Colby-Sawyer College and Husson University at the Eastern Nazarene Invitational at the Lahue Athletic Center.

Regis 3, Colby-Sawyer 1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-19, 25-15)

Regis dominated the opening set against Colby-Sawyer, earning 12 kills on 23 attempts without an attack error for a .522 hitting percentage. However, the Chargers stormed back in the second set, scoring six of the first seven points and maintaining a healthy advantage throughout the set to tie the match at one set apiece.

After losing the first two points of the third set, the Pride scored the next five points, led by Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) with two kills and a solo block. After the Chargers pulled to within one at 9-8, Regis put together a 12-4 scoring run to take control, but Colby-Sawyer battled back with its own 6-1 run to close to within four at 22-18. The Pride would close out the third set on kills by Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.), Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.), and Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.).

The teams split the first 20 points of the fourth set before Regis gained the upper hand with a 10-2 scoring stretch. After Colby-Sawyer put together a brief 3-1 streak, the Pride finished off the set and the match by scoring the final four points, capped by a service ace from Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.).

Whalen led the Pride offense with 14 kills, while Tenorio and Kai Berning (Corvallis, Ore.) each contributed nine kills. Karly Sanborn (Gilmanton, N.H.) notched a career-high 40 assists, and Tyler Wax (San Diego, Calif.) paced the team with three service aces. Defensively, Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) topped the squad with 19 digs, followed by Tenorio with 18 digs and Wax with 12 digs.

Regis 3, Husson 0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-17)

Consecutive service aces by van der Meulen allowed the Pride to take the early lead in the opening set, eventually extending it to 20-11. Husson battled back with a 10-2 scoring run to pull to within one at 22-21, but two kills from Whalen and an Eagle attack error clinched the first set for Regis.

The Pride used that momentum to control the second set, opening an 18-3 lead before the Eagles responded with a 7-1 scoring stretch. Regis would win six of the final seven points of the set, punctuated by consecutive service aces from Harmony Lopez (Carlsbad, N.M.), to take a 2-0 match lead heading into the third set.

Regis won the first four points of the third set, but needed to continually stop Husson from surging back. Ahead 18-14, the Pride closed out the set and the match with a 7-3 scoring run, capped by a block from Dow and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) as well as a service ace from Dow.

Whalen once again led the Pride offense with 10 kills while Tenorio finished with nine kills and eight digs. The setting duties were split between Sanborn (17 assists) and Fagundo (10 assists), with van der Meulen collecting five of the team's 13 service aces.

At the conclusion of the ENC Invitational, Dow and Tenorio were named to the All-Tournament Team. Dow finished with weekend with 20 kills, eight total blocks, and four service aces, while Tenorio collected 25 kills and 52 digs as she contributed both offensively and defensively.

Regis College (2-3) begins a stretch of eight consecutive matches on its home floor with a non-conference contest against Mitchell Wednesday, Sept. 15, starting at 6 p.m.