Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Through Season-Opening Tri-Match

WESTON, Mass. - The Regis College women's volleyball team received contributions from several players in sweeps over Fisher College and Thomas College Friday as the Pride hosted a non-conference collegiate tri-match at Higgins Court.

REGIS 3, FISHER 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-9)

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched her sixth career triple-double, leading the Pride with 13 kills, 15 assists, and 12 digs. Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) earned a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) contributed 12 digs, seven assists, and three service aces. Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) had a solid collegiate debut with 11 assists, four service aces, and nine defensive digs, and Isabella Seccareccio (Medford, Mass.) added seven digs to the winning effort.

The Pride took the early lead in the first set thanks to an 11-3 scoring run, capped by a kill and a solo block from Lauren Tuttle (Stratham, N.H.). Fisher responded with a 6-1 scoring run, punctuated by a service ace from Natalia Ramirez, to close to within two points at 14-12, but Regis closed out the opening set with eight straight points, led by Mola with two kills and Rivera with two service aces.

Fisher pulled ahead in the second set, 10-9, before Regis took the lead for good on four straight points, capped by a block from Fabiano and Bella Karpicz (Berkley, Mass.). The Pride did not allow the Falcons to score consecutive points the rest of the set, winning five of the last six points thanks in part to kills by Karpicz, Tenorio, and Mola.

The Falcons earned an early 5-3 advantage in the third set on kills by Paola Velazquez and Mayouri Yath, but Regis outscored Fisher 22-4 to complete the sweep. The Pride won the final five points of the match, starting with three straight kills from Mckinney and concluding with a service ace from Tenorio and a kill by Jayda DeCarlo (Westminster, Mass.).

Velazquez led the Falcons with four kills, while Alondra Farinacci dished out 10 assists and collected seven defensive digs. Edsyl Irizarry paced the Fisher backline with 11 digs, followed by Sofia Campos with 10 digs.

REGIS 3, THOMAS 0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-17)

Mola finished with a match-high 11 kills, while Mckinney ended up with 10 kills, a .571 hitting percentage, and 17 assists. Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) also earned 10 kills, and Rivera dished out 10 assists in just two sets. Tenorio led the defensive effort with 16 digs, plus she collected three service aces, as did Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Kate Julian (Mendon, Mass.) as the Pride finished with 15 service aces as a team.

Thomas scored the first three points of the match and opened a 7-3 lead, led by MJ Rose with two kills and a solo block. Regis responded with an 8-2 scoring run and later scored four straight points, three of them on kills by Fabiano, Mckinney, and Mola, to pull ahead, 18-12. The Terriers closed to within one points at 19-18 on a kill by Sariah Putnam, but the Pride closed out the first set with a 6-2 scoring run, capped by a kill from Tenorio.

After Thomas opened the second set with a kill from Einy Mendez, Regis scored five straight points, including three straight service aces from Montigny. The Pride rattled off seven unanswered points later in the set, punctuated by consecutive kills from Fabiano, and Regis would eventually clinch the second set with two kills by Mckinney and a service ace from Tenorio.

Fabiano and Mola each notched a kill and a block assist to open the third set as Regis opened a 17-5 advantage. The Terriers took advantage of several Regis mistakes, closing to within five points at 22-17, but the Pride finally closed out the set and the match with the final three points, capped by consecutive kills from Mola.

Rose led the Terriers with seven kills, two service aces, and three solo blocks, while Kennedy Zarger dished out 13 assists and contributed seven digs. Halle Ham paced the Thomas backline with 16 defensive digs, and Sariah Putnam added four kills on six attack attempts for a .667 hitting percentage.

In a match that took close to two-and-a-half hours, Fisher pulled out a five-set victory over Thomas in the middle contest of the day (25-22, 25-27, 25-22, 21-25, 16-14). Alicia Tkach led the Falcones with 11 kills, plus she earned 15 digs, while Irizarry finished with 29 digs and four service aces. Rose led the Terriers with 12 kills and five total blocks, Mendez finished with eight kills and 29 digs, and Zarger collected 30 assists, five service aces, and 20 digs.

Regis College (2-0) heads to Brandeis University Saturday, Aug. 31, for two matches, facing Endicott College at 12 p.m. and the host Judges at 2 p.m. The Pride then return home to face Worcester State Tuesday, Sept. 3, beginning at 7 p.m.