Women’s Volleyball Earns 20th Victory of Season on Senior Day

WESTON, Mass. – For the third time in the history of the program, Regis College reached the 20-win mark, as the Pride defeated Maine-Fort Kent, 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22), Thursday afternoon in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at Higgins Court.

On Senior Day, the Pride seniors played a major role in the victory, including a double-double from setter Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) with 44 assists and 10 digs. Offensively, Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) collected eight kills while Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.) contributed six kills.

Defensively, both Luinet Melendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) and Jordan Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) posted new career high dig totals, as Melendez earned 13 digs and Sterenberg finished with nine digs. Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the Pride with four service aces and 23 defensive digs.

Maine-Fort Kent took an 11-8 lead in the first set thanks in part to kills by Erika Gutierrez and Beatriz Garrido that started a 4-0 run. Regis responded with an 11-2 scoring run, led by Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) with a kill and four service aces. The Pride would clinch the opening set by scoring the final three points, including kills by Dow and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.).

Led by two kills and a solo block from Abigail Thompson, the Bengals opened a 6-1 lead to start the second set, but the Pride eventually closed to within one point at 11-10 on a kill and a service ace by Flemming. Maine-Fort Kent extended its lead back to six thanks to a 7-2 scoring run, but the Pride would put together a 9-3 scoring stretch of its own, capped by two blocks, to tie the set at 23-23. A kill by Gutierrez and a Pride attack error allowed the Bengals to win the second set and tie the match.

Maine-Fort Kent (11-11) scored the first two points of the third set on kills by Thompson and Allora Somonton, and then the Bengals would use kills by Heather Harness, Thompson, and Somonton to open a 12-9 advantage. The Pride responded with five unanswered points, featuring consecutive kills by Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.), but a service ace from Garrido put the Bengals back on top, 18-17.

The Pride regained the advantage thanks to consecutive kills by Dow, a kill from Tenorio, and a service ace by Tyler Wax (San Diego, Calif.). Regis finally won the third set on kills by Tenorio and Whalen, taking a 2-1 match lead into the fourth set.

In the fourth set, two kills by Dow during a 4-0 Regis run put the home team ahead, 8-5, but the Bengals responded with three straight points. A 5-1 scoring run gave the Pride a 13-9 lead, but again Maine-Fort Kent fought back, using a kill by Somonton and a service ace from Halle Ham to pull into a 16-16 tie. The Pride took the lead for good with a 7-2 scoring stretch, and they would close out the set and the match on kills by Tenorio and Montigny.

Dow led the way for the Pride with a career-high 15 kills along with four service aces and four block assists. Montigny earned 10 kills, Tenorio contributed eight kills, and Wax added seven digs and two service aces to the winning effort.

Somonton led the Bengals with 13 kills, with Thompson, Kaylee Neher, and Danae Ford earning seven kills apiece. Both Garrido (17 assists and 10 digs) and Carla Rodriguez (16 assists and 12 digs) notched double-doubles, while Ham led Maine-Fort Kent with two service aces and 15 defensive digs.

Regis reached the 20-win mark in a single season for the first time in six years, as the Pride won 22 matches in 2015. In 2014, the squad set the program record with 24 victories.

Regis College (20-7, 9-3 GNAC) heads to Chicopee, Mass., to face Elms College and Bay Path University Saturday, Oct. 30. The match between the Pride and the Blazers will determine which team will earn a top-four seed in the upcoming GNAC Tournament in order to host a quarterfinal match next Tuesday, Nov. 2.