WESTON, Mass. – After battling the Wentworth Leopards throughout the first match of the day before losing, 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 28-26, 27-25), Regis College returned to the court later in the afternoon and swept Southern Maine, 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 25-20), Saturday in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at Higgins Court.
Regis 3, Southern Maine 0
Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.) led the team offensively with 13 kills as she hit .385 in the match, while Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) collected 11 kills and Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) added eight kills on a team-high .412 hitting percentage. Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) ran the offense, finishing with 18 assists and 14 assists respectively, Meg Adams (Ware, Mass.) led the Pride with four service aces, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) paced the defense with 16 digs.
Led by two kills from Veasey, Regis opened the match with a 4-1 lead, as it did not allow Southern Maine to score more than two points in a row throughout the opening set. The Pride opened an eight-point advantage at 18-10 thanks to a 6-1 scoring run, including three kills by Pelland, and then she clinched the opening set for the home team with another kill.
Southern Maine (12-13) scored the first five points of the second set, led by two kills from Jamie Jannarone. After Regis closed to within one at 12-11 on a kill by Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.), the Huskies scored five of the next six points to extend their lead back to five. Down 21-18, the Pride closed out the second set with an 8-3 scoring run, capped by three straight kills from Pelland.
Early in the third set, Jannarone notched a kill and a service ace to help give the Huskies a 5-4 lead, and then Southern Maine scored three unanswered points, punctuated by a kill from Kylee Austin, to retake the lead at 10-8. Regis gained control of the third set with a 7-1 scoring run, but the Huskies put together another three-point run to close to within one at 15-14.
The Pride scored five of the next six points to bring the momentum back on their side of the net. After a kill by Kacey Foerster, Regis scored three of the final four points on two kills by Pelland sandwiched around a service ace from Adams.
Foerster and Jannarone led the Huskies with eight kills apiece, with Foerster also collecting 10 digs. Sophie Lindsay notched a double-double with 15 assists and 16 digs.
Wentworth 3, Regis 1
Veasey notched a double-double against the Leopards with a team-high 15 kills along with 10 digs, plus she earned four service aces and three block assists. Whalen earned 11 kills, Pelland contributed nine kills and four total blocks, and Butt added seven kills and a team-high eight total blocks. Ondris ended up with 24 assists, two service aces, and seven digs, Fagundo also compiled a double-double with 11 assists and 10 digs, and van der Meulen led the Pride defense with 15 digs.
Regis scored the first three points of the match, but Wentworth quickly answered with the next three points. Down 6-4, the Leopards scored six straight points, including consecutive service aces by Chaise Kakuk, to pull ahead, 10-6. The Pride responded with a 6-1 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Veasey, and then another 6-1 stretch later in the set put Regis on top, 21-15.
The Leopards took control of the first set, closing it out with a 10-2 scoring run. After a block by Butt and Samantha Silveira (East Taunton, Mass.) tied the set at 23-23, Wentworth finished it off with a kill by Jade Iadarola and a Regis attack error.
After Wentworth scored three of the first four points of the second set, Regis rattled off nine straight points, led by Butt with two kills and two block assists. However, the Leopards fought back, first scoring five unanswered points to close to within two, and then putting together a 7-1 scoring run to take the lead at 17-14.
Regis battled back with a quick 5-1 scoring run of its own, capped by a kill from Veasey, to retake the lead at 19-18. Leah Rogoz kept the Leopards ahead with a block assist and two kills, but then the Pride closed out the second set with three straight points on a kill by Silveira, a service ace by van der Meulen, and a kill by Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.).
The Pride scored the first three points of the third set, but Wentworth again came back to keep the set close. After seven ties, the Leopards finally took the lead at 17-16, but a kill by Whalen and a service ace from van der Meulen put the Pride back on top, 19-18. Wentworth had three chances to win the set that were denied by Regis, but consecutive kills by Samantha Lassiter finally completed the task.
After Pelland opened the fourth set with a kill, the Leopards scored eight of the next 10 points to open a five-point advantage. Iadarola earned three straight Wentworth kills to put her team ahead 13-9, but the Pride chipped away at that advantage, eventually tying the set at 17-17 on a Veasey service ace.
Later in the fourth set, Regis had a chance to force a deciding fifth set as a kill by Veasey and a Leopard attack error gave the Pride a 25-24 lead. However, after a Regis attack error tied the set at 25-25, Iadarola earned consecutive kills to clinch the set and the match for the visitors.
Rogoz led the Leopards with 18 kills and 27 digs, including a kill to give Wentworth a two-point lead at 17-15 in the fourth set as well as make her the all-time leader in points for the Leopards. Iadarola also notched a double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs, while Mary Zlotosch contributed 10 kills. Defensively, Riley Waggoner led at the net with nine total blocks, while Lexie Cambray finished with 17 digs.
Wentworth (18-5) also needed four sets to defeat Southern Maine, 3-1 (25-10, 21-25, 25-15, 25-23). Iadarola led the Leopards with 13 kills, followed closely by Zlotosch with 12 kills. Jordan Chapman accumulated 29 assists, five kills, two service aces, and six kills, while Rogoz added eight kills, six service aces, and 10 digs, and Cambray led the defense against the Huskies with 15 digs. Wentworth next plays at Endicott Thursday, Oct. 24.
Against the Leopards, Southern Maine was led by Jannarone and Joie Hared with nine kills apiece, followed by Molly Mawhinney with eight kills. Lindsay notched a double-double with 21 assists and 11 digs, Foerster added seven kills, 12 digs, and three total blocks, and libero Lauren Delissio paced the Husky backline with 16 digs. Southern Maine returns to the area to play at Lasell Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Regis (9-14) begins the second half of the conference schedule at Suffolk Wednesday, Oct. 23, starting at 7 p.m.