PRIDE FEND OFF HAWKS FOR 3-1 WIN

PRIDE FEND OFF HAWKS FOR 3-1 WIN

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College rebounded from an early 1-0 hole to rally for a 3-1 win over Becker College in New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball action on Tuesday night in Weston, Mass. The Pride (16-10, 5-0 NECC) used set scores of 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, and 25-22 in the win over Becker (10-13, 2-3 NECC).

After a back-and-forth battle to start the match, the Hawks grabbed a 12-9 lead following a Pride error in the opening game. Regis battled their way back into the match and an Emily DeBarros (Brockton, Mass.) kill knotted the game at 13-13. Becker answered with a quick 4-0 spurt to jump on top 17-13 before Regis responded with a run of its own to make it an 18-17 deficit.

That would be as close as the Pride would get as Becker ended the set on a 7-2 run to take a 1-0 lead in the match with the 25-19 win.

Regis jumped out to a 15-11 lead in game two as Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas) sandwiched kills around a Becker error and forced a Hawks timeout. The Pride lead would extend to 19-13 on a Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.) kill, but Becker hung around and clawed to within 21-19 following back-to-back errors by the Pride.

A Cheyenne Melanson (Sandown, N.H.) kill followed by another Regis error helped the Hawks get to within one at 23-22. Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) nailed a kill to make it 24-22, and the two teams traded service errors, allowing Regis to tie the match at 1-1 with the 25-23 victory.

Game three started out much the same as Regis took a 14-10 lead following a pair of Becker errors. Kayla Dupree (North Bergen, N.J.) registered a kill followed by a solo block to make it a 15-14 game, and Charlene Landry (Gorham, Maine) put the Hawks on top 16-15 with a service ace.

Nicole Connolly tied the match at 19-19 with a kill, and Graciella Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) extended the Pride lead to 23-20 several points later. Another Connolly kill forced a Becker timeout with the Hawks trailing 24-21, and they climbed to within 24-23 after back-to-back errors from Regis. A Hawk attack error would end the set, however, as Regis took a 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead into game four.

Regis dominated play early in the fourth set as the Pride took a 16-8 lead midway through the game. Crystina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) gave Regis their largest lead of the set at 23-14 as she placed a kill in the back corner, but Becker would not go away. Trailing 24-15, the Hawks took advantage of a Pride error and Marissa Turner (Coventry, R.I.) proceeded to serve on five-straight points as Becker made it a 24-21 game after kills from Kayla Dupree and Cheyenne Melanson.

Regis was forced to call a timeout, but Dupree nailed another kill out of the break to get to 24-22. Becker had a chance to get within one, but Nicole Connolly blocked a Dupree attempt for the deciding point as the Pride held on for a 25-22 win and the 3-1 victory.

Graciella Molinari led Regis with 12 kills and three service aces on the night. Nicole Connolly and Rachel Bartels added seven kills apiece and combined for five total blocks, with Connolly adding 11 digs. Emily DeBarros also chipped in with six kills and three blocks. Crystina Lathrop posted a double-double with 19 assists and a game-high 21 digs, to go with three kills and a pair of aces. Caroline Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) also reached double-figures in digs with 12 on the night.

The Hawks were paced by 11 kills and three blocks from Marissa Turner. Kayla Dupree added eight kills, seven digs, and three blocks. Samantha Caouette (Montague, Mass.) posted six kills, while Cheyenne Melanson had four kills, seven digs, and three blocks of her own. Charlene Landry had a double-double of 22 assists and 18 digs, and added four aces and three kills, while Erin Sacharanski (Union Beach, Calif.) had 12 digs and Brittney Bullis (Stafford, Va.) chipped in 17 digs.

The Crimson and Gold return to action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Newbury College for a meeting with the Nighthawks at 1:00 p.m. Becker travels to Curry College for a non-league match on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.