WESTON, Mass. – After splitting the first two sets with fifth seed Norwich University, fourth seed Regis College continued to play tough defense both at the net and in the backline, taking the next two sets to defeat the Cadets, 3-1 (25-21, 27-29, 25-14, 25-10), Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament at Higgins Court.
Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) led the Pride with 10 kills and a .421 hitting percentage, plus she earned six total blocks, while Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) collected nine kills and a season-high 11 total blocks, the second-highest individual single-match total in program history. Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) notched a double-double with 18 assists, including the 1,000th assist of her career, and 13 digs, while Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) also posted a double-double with 15 assists and 14 digs to go along with eight kills.
The two teams exchanged several small scoring runs in the opening set before Regis rattled off a 9-3 scoring run to open a 16-12 advantage. Down 20-15 after consecutive Pride blocks, the Cadets scored five unanswered points, capped by a kill from Kathryn Farnum and a service ace by Addison Hall, to tie the set at 20-20. Regis responded by scoring five of the final six points of the set, featuring two kills by Montigny.
Norwich opened the second set with an 8-1 scoring run, including consecutive kills by Hall and a service ace from Julia Schroeder. The Pride answered right back with seven straight points to tie the set at 9-9, and then the two squads once again went back-and-forth with the momentum.
After a kill by Leah Matthewson gave the Cadets a 24-23 lead, the Pride scored the next two points to create their own chance to end the set. A kill by Montigny tied the set at 27-27, but consecutive Regis errors allowed Norwich to clinch the second set and tie the match at one set apiece.
The Pride opened a 7-2 lead in the third set and then, after a service ace by Julia Dorr brought the Cadets within three at 8-5, rattled off a 9-1 scoring run, capped by a service ace from Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.), to extend their advantage to 17-6. Norwich scored three straight points near the end of the set, but Regis closed out the set with its own 3-0 run on kills by Tenorio, Fagundo, and Mckinney.
Led by two kills apiece from Dow and Kai Berning (Corvallis, Ore.), Regis jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth set, but Norwich quickly closed its deficit to two at 9-7. The Pride finished off the set and the match with a 13-1 scoring run, featuring three kills apiece from Montigny and Berning and punctuated by a service ace from Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
Tenorio finished with six kills, three service aces, 16 digs, and five total blocks, while Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) contributed eight kills and seven block assists as the Pride finished with 17 team blocks, just a half-block off the single-match record of 17.5 team blocks set 10 years ago. In the backline, van der Meulen collected a team-high 17 digs along with eight assists and three service aces, and Tyler Wax (San Diego, Calif.) added 13 digs to the winning effort.
The Cadets were led by Hall with 11 kills and five total blocks, while Kathryn Farnum accumulated seven kills and 15 defensive digs. As a team, Norwich posted a negative hitting percentage (-.018) as its nine-match winning streak was snapped to end its season with a 15-7 overall record.
Regis (23-7) will travel to top seed Rivier for a GNAC Tournament semifinal match Thursday, Nov. 4, at a time to be announced. The Raiders swept Saint Joseph's College Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals.