FRANKLIN, Mass. – Regis College used its service game and offensive attack to defeat Colby-Sawyer College, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-21), and then the Pride carried that momentum into a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-9) victory over Dean College Saturday afternoon in non-conference men's collegiate volleyball action at Pieri Gymnasium.
REGIS 3, COLBY-SAWYER 0
Matt Ferrara (Haverhill, Mass.) led the Pride with eight kills and eight digs as he hit .263 in the match and earned three service aces. Kostea Andreenko (Marstons Mills, Mass.) finished with six kills, a .500 hitting percentage, and nine service aces, one of the highest single-match totals in program history.
Colby-Sawyer (5-2) scored the first two points of the match, but Regis responded with a 14-4 scoring run. After the Chargers pulled to within four at 17-13, the Pride scored four straight points, led by Andreenko with a kill and two aces. Colby-Sawyer closed its deficit to four thanks to a 6-2 scoring run, but a bad set by the Chargers clinched the opening set for the Pride.
Regis opened an 8-3 lead in the second set, but Colby-Sawyer later scored four straight points to cut the Pride advantage to two at 14-12. Regis closed out the second set with an 11-4 scoring run, led by Fernando Gomez (San Juan, Puerto Rico) with three kills and capped by a kill from Andreenko.
In the third set, back-to-back service aces from Eric Miller allowed the Chargers to take a 10-9 lead, but Regis went on a 12-3 scoring run, led by three more aces from Andreenko, to open a 21-13 advantage. Colby-Sawyer once again rallied thanks to an 8-3 scoring run, led by a block and a service ace by Zach Allen, but Regis forced the Chargers into a bad set to close out the match.
Orlando Plagata led the Chargers with nine kills and seven digs, while Miller finished with five service aces and four digs. Defensively, Colby-Sawyer collected more team blocks (3-0) and tied the Pride in digs with 31 apiece, but Regis controlled the offensive categories of kills (29-15), hitting percentage (.203-.070), and service aces (13-8).
REGIS 3, DEAN 0
Gomez led the Pride against the Bulldogs with eight kills and four service aces, while Inelson Alves (Brockton, Mass.) collected eight kills, three service aces, and a solo block. Jayson Vega (Ponce, Puerto Rico) dished out 16 assists to go along with eight digs, and Zabdiel Frias (Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) led the Pride defense in the back with 11 digs.
Regis jumped out to a 5-1 lead, and then the Pride extended their advantage to 11-4 on consecutive service aces by Drew Beimel (Redondo Beach, Calif.). Dean scored four straight points, featuring back-to-back blocks by Aaron Brody, to close to within three at 13-10, but the Pride closed out the set with an 11-3 scoring run, led by Alves with a block, a kill, and two service aces.
Dean (1-3) scored the first two points of the second set, but Regis put together a 9-4 scoring run to swing the momentum in its favor. The Bulldogs retook the lead at 15-14 thanks to a 7-2 scoring run, led by Brody with a block and a kill, but the Pride grabbed control of the set with an 11-3 scoring stretch, led by Beimel with three kills and Gomez with two service aces.
Regis opened the third set with eight of the first nine points, and then extended its lead into double figures with a 6-2 scoring run. The Pride continued to pressure the Bulldogs, closing out the set and the match on a 9-2 scoring run, punctuated by a kill from Alves.
The Bulldogs earned more blocks than the Pride, 4-1, but every other stat went in Regis's favor, including kills (26-7), service aces (16-1), and digs (38-26). Beimel provided senior leadership for the Pride with seven kills, three service aces, and four digs.
Regis (3-4) hosts Newbury College Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Higgins Court starting at 6 p.m., the last home match for the Pride until March 16. Regis will play six straight contests away from home, including rematches with both Dean (Feb. 16) and Colby-Sawyer (Feb. 27) as well as a road match at nationally ranked Endicott (Feb. 15).