Women’s Volleyball Splits Regis Fest Tri-Match

WESTON, Mass. - After Regis College battled back from a 2-0 deficit to nearly extend its first match of the day to five sets before Simmons University prevailed, 3-1, the Pride swept Mitchell College, 3-0, Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tri-match at Higgins Court.

REGIS 3, MITCHELL 0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-21)

Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) led the Pride with 12 kills on 23 attack attempts without an error for a .522 hitting percentage, while Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) finished with six kills, two service aces and 11 digs. The setting duties were split between Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) with 19 assists and Allie Bietz (Branford, Conn.) with 14 assists along with two service aces, and Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.) contributed 11 defensive digs.

Regis scored the first nine points of the match, led by Fabiano and Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) with three kills apiece, as the Pride opened a 13-1 advantage. After Mitchell brought its deficit back into single digits at 16-7, Regis closed out the first set with a 9-4 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Tenorio.

The Mariners stayed close in the second set, pulling to within four points at 11-7 on kills by Jenna Blankenship and Allison Blum. The Pride responded with a 7-2 scoring run, capped by two kills from Tenorio and a block by Mckinney and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.). Regis would clinch the second set and take a 2-0 match lead on a kill by Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.).

Thanks in part to two service aces by Bietz, Regis opened a 5-1 lead in the third set, but Mitchell battled back, taking the lead at 11-10 on a kill by Bliss Brown. After another kill by Brown tied the set at 12-12, Regis rattled off six unanswered points to pull ahead, 20-14. The Pride would hold off a final rally by the Mariners to close out the set and the match.

Brown led the Mariners with 11 kills, plus she collected eight digs, just behind the team-high 10 defensive digs from Julia Lent. Blankenship dished out 16 assists to go along with two service aces and five digs.

SIMMONS 3, REGIS 1 (25-19, 25-15, 15-25, 27-25)

Mckinney notched her fourth career triple-double with 11 kills, 16 assists, and 11 digs, while three other Regis players finished with seven kills apiece. Mola, one of the seven-kill group, also finished with five assists, two service aces, and a season-high 23 digs, and Tenorio also finished with seven kills and 11 digs.

Regis scored the first three points of the match thanks in part to kills by Tenorio and Fabiano, but Simmons eventually took control with nine unanswered points, led by Claire Conners with three kills and a block assist. The Pride closed to within three points at 20-17 on consecutive service aces by Mola, but the Sharks scored five of the final seven points of the opening set, capped by a kill from Jayla Parnell.

Simmons jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the second set, led by Parnell with two kills and a service ace. After a block by Mckinney and Montigny brought the Pride within five points at 11-6, the Sharks rattled off an 8-2 scoring run, led by Parnell and Chelsea Simmons with two kills apiece. Conners notched consecutive blocks and a kill to help Simmons close out the set and take a 2-0 match lead.

Regis put together a 6-1 scoring run early in the third set to pull ahead, 10-6, and then the Pride prevented the Sharks from scoring consecutive points the rest of the way. At the end of the set, the home team would extend the match into a fourth set thanks to kills by Mola and Mckinney.

The Pride scored the first three points of the fourth set on a kill by Mckinney and consecutive service aces from Bietz. Regis would eventually open a 12-5 lead on a block by Fabiano and Dow, but Simmons responded with five of the next six points, capped by a service ace from Simmons.

Three straight kills from Tenorio allowed the Pride to extend their lead back to seven points at 17-10, but the Sharks rebounded with a 14-4 scoring run, including four kills by Kat Simeonidis as well as two kills and two service aces by Conners. The Pride held off match point on a kill by Mola and consecutive Simmons attack errors, but two kills by Conners and a Regis attack error would end the contest in the Sharks' favor.

Conners finished with a double-double of 16 kills and 13 digs, as did Parnell with 11 kills and 12 digs. Chelsea Simmons dished out 27 assists to go along with three service aces, five digs, and three total blocks, and Hannah Pridgeon led the Sharks with 16 defensive digs.

SIMMONS 3, MITCHELL 0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-14)

In the middle match of the day, Simmons swept Mitchell behind 14 kills and 12 digs from Conners as well as seven kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and five total blocks by Meghan Doxsee. Three different Mitchell players earned five kills apiece, while Lent paced the Mariner backline with a match-high 16 defensive digs.

Regis College (10-6, 2-1 GNAC) hosts Johnson and Wales University Wednesday, Oct. 4, starting at 7 p.m. Simmons University (8-6, 4-0 GNAC) travels to face Elms College Friday, Oct. 6, beginning at 7 p.m. Mitchell College (5-8, 3-4 GNAC) hosts Framingham State Wednesday night at 7 p.m.