BROOKLINE, Mass. – In a rematch of last season's New England Collegiate Conference final, the Regis College women's volleyball team prevailed with a 3-1 victory over Newbury College in NECC action on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore outside hitter Graciella Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) led the way notching a match-high 12 kills as the Pride remain perfect in conference action.
Regis wasted little time jumping out to the 12-3 lead, taking advantage of a few Nighthawks miscues, to begin the day, but the Nighthawks were able to claw their way back. Junior middle hitter Courtney Banks (Corona, Calif.) and sophomore outside hitter Maya Umoren (Quincy, Mass.) combined to hit .538 tallying seven kills on 13 attempts to bring the Nighthawks back to as close at three points late in the set. But it was not enough as the Pride held on to take the first set, 25-19.
Down two early in the second set, sophomore outside hitter Gabby Aldaco (Springdale, Ark.) put the Nighthawks on her back and ignited a 10-0 run. She capped off the run with her fourth service ace to take the 10-2 advantage and the Nighthawks never looked back. Banks notched three kills on nine attempts for a .333 attack percentage while sophomore outside hitter Lina Miranda (Brockton, Mass.) matched her with three kills of her own to take the second set, 25-22, and even up the match.
The Pride got back on their feet in the third set edging out the Nighthawks, 25-23, in game three. First year middle blocker Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas) recorded four kills, while sophomore outside hitter Emily DeBarros (Brockton, Mass.) was right behind, hitting .400 with three kills on five attempts and just one error.
Regis sealed the deal taking the back-and-forth, fourth set barn-burner, 25-21. Trailing 22-18 late in the set, Miranda sparked a mini 3-0 run to bring them back to within one, 22-21, forcing the Pride to burn their first time-out. The Pride answered, coming out with a 3-0 run to take the game four, 25-21.
In addition to notching 11 kills, Bartels finished the day with five total blocks – three assisted and two solo. DeBarros rounded out the Pride in double figures with 10 kills.
Banks led the Nighthawks with 10 kills and came one defensive dig shy of a double-double - tallying nine while recording four block assists. Umoren followed up, posting a .350 attack percentage, tallying eight kills on 20 attempts with just one error.
Newbury falls to 13-10 and 4-2 in conference play while Regis improves to 17-10 and 6-0 in NECC action. The Pride will be in action on Tuesday when they host Lesley University at 7:00 p.m. in Weston.
Release courtesy of Newbury College Sports Information