Regis Women’s Volleyball Drops Two in GNAC Tri-Match

Regis Women’s Volleyball Drops Two in GNAC Tri-Match

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Regis College could not close out its first match of the day against host St. Joseph, eventually losing to the Blue Jays, 3-2 (17-25, 20-25, 26-24, 26-24, 15-12), before also falling to Emmanuel College, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-21), Saturday in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball contests at the O'Connell Center.

ST. JOSEPH 3, REGIS 2

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) notched another double-double with a team-high 19 kills along with 14 digs, plus she earned three service aces. Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas) finished with 10 kills, Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) hit .381 as she contributed nine kills and seven total blocks, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) dished out a season-high 29 assists. Defensively, Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.) added five total blocks, and Caroline Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) led the Pride with 18 digs.

After losing the first point of the match, Regis scored the next six points, including two service aces by Emma Morales Cestero (San Juan, Puerto Rico), to open a 6-1 advantage. The Pride extended their lead thanks to a 7-2 scoring run and eventually pulled ahead by double digits, 20-10. The Blue Jays closed to within six, but Regis held them off, winning the first set on a service error by the home team.

Butt earned two kills and a solo block as Regis took the first six points of the second set, but St. Joseph rallied back, outscoring the Pride 16-5 to take a 17-12 lead. Regis answered right back, closing out the second set with a 12-2 scoring run, led by Veasey with five kills, a block assist, and two service aces for the final two points of the set.

St. Joseph (11-14, 2-9 GNAC) scored four of the first five points of the third set to take the early lead. Down by five after a kill by Aminah Tsonga, the Pride scored the next five points thanks to two kills by Veasey and two service aces by Morales Cestero. Later in the set, Veasey earned a kill and a service ace to give the Pride a chance to close out the match, but the Blue Jays held them off by winning the final three points of the set, capped by consecutive service aces by Hannah Benson.

Regis opened a 10-3 lead in the fourth set, but St. Joseph once again battled back, going on a 7-1 scoring run to pull within one at 11-10. After a kill by Samantha Turner (Concord, N.H.) and a block from Pelland and Erin Gallagher (Tyngsboro, Mass.), the Blue Jays scored five straight points to take the lead at 15-13. St. Joseph had two set point chances at 24-22, but a kill by Veasey and a block by Turner and Pelland tied the set at 24-24. However, St. Joseph would win the set on a kill by Tsonga and a service ace by Nina Lestrud.

The Pride again took the early lead in the fifth set by scoring seven of the first eight points, but two kills and a block assist by Benson led the Blue Jay rally to within two at 9-7. After a St. Joseph attack error, the home team recovered, winning eight of the final 10 points of the match, including two more service aces by Lestrud and capped by a kill from Torrie Epps and a service ace by Brenna Miller.

Tsonga led the Blue Jay offense with 15 kills, plus she earned two service aces and 10 digs, while Benson finished with 11 kills, five service aces, and 21 digs. Miller also notched a double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs, Epps contributed 10 kills and four total blocks, and Janell Molina added 14 digs to the winning effort.

EMMANUEL 3, REGIS 0

Against the Saints, Veasey once again led the Pride offensively with 10 kills and three service aces, plus she earned nine digs. MacKenzie Emco (Sutton, Mass.) finished with seven kills and Pelland added six kills as the setting duties were split between Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) with 16 assists and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) with 14 assists. Defensively, van der Meulen led the team with 13 digs.

The first set went back and forth, as there were 15 ties with neither team holding more than a two-point advantage until the 41st point of the set. Down 19-17, Emmanuel closed out the set with an 8-2 scoring run, capped by kills from Marissa Cataldo and Casey Sheehan.

Emmanuel (8-17, 5-6 GNAC) took control of the second set with eight unanswered points, led by three kills from Cataldo and two kills by Alexandra Mezzo. Down set point, Regis extended the set with a kill by Pelland and a Saint attack error, but Emmanuel finally clinched the second set with a kill by Sheehan.

The early part of the third set was close, but the Saints opened a seven-point lead thanks to six straight points, punctuated by a kill and a service ace from Cataldo. Regis rallied with an 8-4 scoring run to close to within three, but Emmanuel finally clinched the set and the match thanks to a kill by Mary Shelow.

Shelow led the Saints with 12 kills, a .458 hitting percentage, two service aces, and three total blocks. Cataldo finished with 11 kills, setter Carly Church notched a double-double with 30 assists and 12 digs, and Katharine Journeay led the defense with 14 digs.

Regis (12-16, 4-8 GNAC) will not qualify for the GNAC Tournament, as Saint Joseph's College defeated Suffolk Saturday to guarantee that eight teams will finish ahead of the Pride in the regular season league standings.