WESTON, Mass. – The University of Southern Maine rallied from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth and deciding game and came away with a 3-2 victory over Regis College in non-conference women's volleyball action on Thursday night in Weston, Mass. The Huskies have won three-straight and nine of their last 10 to improve to 10-2 on the season, while Regis falls to 4-11 with the setback.
Game one started out as a back-and-forth battle between the two squads. A Pride service error tied the game at 8-8 before the Huskies scored seven of the next 10 points to take a 15-11 lead. USM ended the opening set on a 10-4 run and grabbed the opening game from the Pride, 25-15.
Regis responded in the second game as the Pride jumped out to a 10-3 lead following a Sara Gold (North Hollywood, Calif.) service ace and forced a Southern Maine timeout. A pair of Jackie Silver (West Hills, Calif.) service aces stretched the Pride lead out to 14-4, but the Huskies responded with six-straight points – including a pair of Demi Ruder (Grand Junction, Colo.) service aces and kills from Amanda Keppel (Springfield, Pa.) and Jessica Garrett (Waterboro, Maine) – to make it a 14-10 game.
Regis kept USM at bay, taking a 19-12 lead on a Vanessa Noesi (Puerta Plata, D.R.) kill and a Huskies error kept it a seven point game later in the set at 22-15. The Huskies would not go away, however, going on a 5-1 run to make it a 23-20 game. A Southern Maine error gave Regis a 24-20 lead, but two late points on kills from Kelsey Abramson (Deerfield, Mass.) and Renee Trottier (Biddeford, Maine) made it 24-22. A service error by USM ended game two, however, as Regis knotted the match at one game apiece.
The third game started out much the same as a block by Noesi and Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) gave Regis a 6-1 advantage. USM responded with four-straight points to make it a 6-5 deficit, and later tied the game at 9-9 on a Bridget Burns (Warrenville, Ill.) service ace. The Pride answered with a run of its own, taking a 15-9 lead after back-to-back Southern Maine errors. The teams traded points and USM cut the Regis lead to 20-17 following a Kristina Rubico (Chelmsford, Mass.) kill, but Regis ended the match on a 5-1 run to take the 25-18 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
Game four started out all Southern Maine as they took a 6-1 lead to open the match and held a 12-5 lead following a Pride error. The Huskies lead never fell below four and USM ended the game on an 8-2 run to win 25-15 and force a fifth and final game.
Regis and USM traded points for the first half of the final set as a solo block from Vanessa Noesi gave Regis an 8-6 lead as the teams traded sides of the floor. A Rubico kill followed by a Pride error knotted the game at eight, and the teams were tied at 9-9 before a Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) and a Bliss service ace gave Regis back the lead at 11-9, prompting a Southern Maine timeout. The break in action worked as the Huskies rattled off five of the next six points to take a 14-12 lead. Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) made it 14-13 after dropping a ball in between the USM defense, but Regis returned the favor from game two – giving the final point of the match to the Huskies on a service error – as Southern Maine hung on for the 3-2 win.
Vanessa Noesi led the Pride attack with 11 kills and seven total blocks in the match. Sam Bliss and Kristina del Rey chipped in nine kills apiece, while Jackie Silver added six kills of her own to go with four service aces. Marilia Ramos dished out 32 assists and had seven digs. Sara Gold posted a team-high 25 digs, and Bliss added 13 of her own in the setback.
The Huskies were led by 15 kills from Kristina Rubico, who also added four service aces and six digs. Amanda Keppel posted eight kills and 20 digs, while Renee Trottier had six kills. Megan Nilson (Granby, Conn.) handed out 18 of the 37 USM assists on the night and also had 10 digs. Demi Ruder led the Huskies defense with 25 digs, while Kelsey Abramson had five kills and four total blocks in victory.
Regis looks to snap a six-game skid on Saturday morning when they take on Wentworth and Mass. Maritime in a tri-match in Boston, Mass. starting at 11:00 a.m. Southern Maine goes for its fourth-straight win on Saturday when the Huskies host Eastern Connecticut and Maine Maritime in a tri-match starting at 12:00 p.m.