Women’s Volleyball Splits First GNAC Matches of Season

BOSTON – Regis College opened its Great Northeast Athletic Conference schedule with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-15) victory over Emmanuel College before losing to Simmons University, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22), Saturday afternoon during a women's collegiate volleyball tri-match at the Holmes Sports Center.

REGIS 3, EMMANUEL 0

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished with seven kills, a .500 hitting percentage, eight assists, and five digs, while Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) earned six kills, three service aces, and four digs. Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) added five kills and three block assists, Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.) dished out 12 assists to go along with four kills, four service aces, and six digs, and Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.) led the Pride with eight digs to go along with two service aces.

The Pride opened a 4-2 lead in the first set and then, after Emmanuel scored the next two points on a kill and a service ace by Kerry Shea, put together a 10-3 scoring run to open a seven-point advantage. The Saints went on a 7-2 scoring run to close to within three at 19-16, but the Pride scored six of the final eight points to clinch the opening set, capped by a block from Whalen and Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.).

Regis scored the first seven points of the second set, featuring Tenorio's three service aces, followed by another stretch of six unanswered points to extend its lead into double figures at 14-3. Emmanuel pulled to within seven points on two occasions in the set, but the Pride scored five of the final six points to close out the second set, punctuated by Miller's fourth service ace of the match.

Led by Dow with two service aces and a kill, Regis opened a 5-1 lead in the third set, and then it put together a 9-2 scoring run later in the set, led by two kills and a service ace from Mckinney, to open a 16-7 advantage. Grace Murphy notched four straight service aces to bring the Saints within six at 21-15, but the Pride scored the final four points of the match on a Murphy service error and three consecutive service aces by Toni Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.).

SIMMONS 3, REGIS 0

Dow led the Pride offensively with five kills, while Tenorio collected four kills and nine digs. Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) also earned four kills apiece, Mckinney dished out 13 assists, Miller contributed seven assists, seven digs, and two service aces, and Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.) added seven digs.

Simmons scored the first four points of the match, including two service aces by Kat Simeonidis, and then rattled off five straight points later in the set to open a 12-4 advantage. Regis put together an 8-3 scoring run, led by two kills from Dow, to close to within two at 16-14, but the Sharks closed out the opening set with their own 8-3 scoring run, capped by a kill from Joenissa Ortiz.

In the second set, the Pride scored five straight points to open a 12-8 lead, but the Sharks answered with five straight points, including consecutive service aces by Simeonidis. The two teams exchanged quick four-point runs, with Regis pulling ahead, 21-20, on back-to-back kills by Tenorio. Simmons responded by scoring five of the final six points of the second set, punctuated by consecutive service aces from Meghan McNamara.

Simmons opened a 10-4 advantage in the third set on consecutive kills by Sydney Iannantuono, but Regis quickly pulled into a 10-10 tie with six unanswered points, led by two kills from Montigny. Once again, the teams exchanged four-point runs before Simmons pulled ahead, 20-17, on back-to-back service aces by Jayla Parnell. The Pride drew within one at 21-20 on a kill by Albers, but the Sharks held off the rally, eventually clinching the set and the match on a Regis attack error.

April Beatty led the Sharks with 12 kills, with Iannantuono notching a double-double with 10 kills and a team-high 10 digs. Simeonidis finished with 25 assists, five service aces, eight digs, and two block assists, and Ortiz contributed six kills and seven digs.

Regis College (5-6, 1-1 GNAC) enters a busy week of home matches, starting Tuesday, Sept. 20, against Eastern Nazarene at 6 p.m. The Pride will host Wentworth Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m. before welcoming Dean and Albertus Magnus to campus next Saturday, Sept. 24, for the traditional Regis Fest tri-match beginning at 10 a.m.