Women's Volleyball Pushes Win Streak to Five in Big Apple Tri-Match

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Regis College women's volleyball team traveled to the Big Apple on Saturday for a tri-match against Rutgers-Newark and host John Jay College. The Pride opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of Rutgers before closing with a 3-2 win over the Bloodhounds, improving to 11-7 on the season and securing their fifth straight victory.

Regis vs. Rutgers-Newark

Spearheaded by three early kills from Beatriz Paulo (Newton, Mass.), the Pride stormed out to a 9-2 lead with nine unanswered points. Their momentum carried through as Paulo delivered three service aces during a 7-0 run that pushed the advantage to 16-3, putting Rutgers in too deep a hole as Regis secured the opening set.

In set two, a pair of Pride miscues allowed Rutgers to build its largest lead of the match at 16-13. Regis quickly responded, battling back to tie the score at 18 and again at 20. A Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) kill followed by an Eva Catalanotto (Cheshire, Conn.) ace put the Pride in front, 21-20. Rutgers pulled even once more at 21, but never regained the lead as Paulo's kill sealed the 25-23 win and a two-set edge.

The third frame featured back-and-forth action until Rutgers grabbed an 18-15 advantage after Pride errors. Regis responded once again, this time with a Fabiano–Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) block that sparked eight unanswered points and pushed the Pride within one of match point. Rutgers briefly slowed the surge, but Fabiano delivered the final kill to secure the set and complete the 3-0 sweep for the Pride.

Regis vs. John Jay

The Pride seized control of the opening set with an eight-point run to take a 15-10 lead. John Jay answered with six straight points of their own to close the gap to one at 20-19, but Regis held firm. A Fabiano kill followed by an Catalanotto ace closed out the set, 25-21.

In set two, a pair of kills from Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) helped the Pride build an 11-6 advantage, and a Kate Julian (Mendon, Mass.) ace soon doubled up the Bloodhounds at 14-7. John Jay stayed within striking distance, trimming the deficit to two, but Catalanotto's kill ignited a four-point surge that allowed Regis to pull away for the 25-18 victory.

Five unanswered points gave the Pride an early 6-1 lead before the Bloodhounds rallied to even the score at 7-7. The set featured eight ties and three lead changes, with back-to-back John Jay kills pushing the hosts ahead 18-16. From there, the Bloodhounds maintained a narrow advantage and closed out the frame, 25-21, to keep the match alive.

An Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) kill evened the set at 10-10 before three unanswered points pushed the Bloodhounds back in front. A few rallies later, a John Jay kill gave them their largest lead of the frame at 20-15, but a Fabiano kill slowed the surge and kept the Pride within striking distance. Catalanotto delivered back-to-back kills to bring the Pride within one at 23-22, forcing John Jay to regroup. The Bloodhounds responded and closed out the set, 25-23, setting up a decisive final frame.

A Mola kill gave the Pride a 5-3 lead, but a John Jay service ace quickly tied the set at 5-5. Regis answered with three unanswered points to reclaim a three-point edge and seize momentum. Shortly after, a Fabiano kill combined with a Bloodhounds miscue pushed the Pride ahead 11-7, prompting John Jay to call a timeout. The timeout worked in Regis' favor, as the Pride came out to score two straight points, forcing the Bloodhounds to use their final timeout. The regroup continued to pay off for the Pride, with back-to-back kills from Paulo and Albers sealing a 15-7 final set and securing a hard-fought 3-2 match victory for the Pride.

Inside the Numbers

• Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) had an all around  games for the Pride opening the day with 10 kills, a team-high 11 digs, three service aces, and three blocks before following it up with 13 kills and 15 digs. 
• With two more wins today the Pride are on a five-game win streak, marking their longest of the season. 
• Alexandra Rivera had a career-high 43 assists in the Pride's five-set victory, which pushed her past 1,000 career assists.
• In game two, Eva Catalanotto had her hand in everything with 12 kills, three aces, and three blocks for a team-high 16.5 points. 
• Beatriz Paulo tied her career-high of six blocks in the Pride's match against John Jay. 

Up Next

The Pride are back in conference action this Tuesday, October 7 when they travel to Dean College for a 7 p.m. match.