Regis Women’s Volleyball Pulls Out Five-Set Thriller on Senior Night

WESTON, Mass. - In a hard-fought match that saw three of the five sets require extra points, Regis College prevailed over Fisher College, 3-2 (25-16, 36-38, 25-7, 24-26, 17-15), Thursday night in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at Higgins Court.

Several Pride players posted career-high totals, led by Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) with 18 kills along with four service aces and six total blocks, including her 200^th career block to become the eighth player in program history to accomplish that milestone. Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) earned career-high totals across the board with 12 kills and 13 digs for her first career double-double along with seven service aces.

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched her third triple-double of the season with 14 kills, 33 assists, and 14 digs, Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.) also earned a double-double with 27 assists and 12 digs, and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) collected a career-high 30 defensive digs to go along with 12 kills. Samantha Silveira (East Taunton, Mass.) also posted career-high marks with six kills and six digs, and Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.) contributed 13 digs to the winning effort.

In the deciding fifth set, Regis raced out to a 7-2 lead, capped by a block from Dow and Mckinney, but Fisher responded with a 9-3 scoring run, led by three kills from Macy Barnes, to pull ahead, 11-10. A kill by Aya Al-Juraishi gave the Falcons a chance to close out the match at 14-13, but the Pride would win four of the final five points, punctuated by consecutive kills from Tenorio.

The opening set was close until the Pride pulled away, finishing the set with a 10-2 scoring run, capped by back-to-back service aces from Dow. The Falcons scored the first four points of the second set, but Regis later put together a 7-1 scoring run, led by a kill and two aces from Pacheco, to take a 14-11 lead.

The two teams exchanged quick four-point spurts before a block by Al-Juraishi and Alicia Tkach brought the Falcons into an 18-18 tie. Unbeknownst to both teams, that would only serve as the halfway point of the set, as eventually there were 19 ties and 10 lead changes in the second set. After a kill by Mckinney brought about another set point for the Pride at 36-35, Fisher scored the final three points of the set, capped by a service ace from Natalia Ortiz.

Regis quickly shook off the second set loss, scoring the first three points of the third set and then rattling off 14 straight points, led by four aces and a kill from Pacheco. The Pride cruised to victory in the third set, led by three kills from Mckinney during the final 8-4 stretch.

After a kill by Tkach tied the fourth set at 4-4, Regis put together a 7-1 scoring run to pull ahead by six points, 11-5. Down 19-13, the Falcons fought back with six unanswered points, led by two kills from Tkach. The Pride scored the next three points, but Fisher quickly recovered, using a 7-2 scoring run to close out the fourth set, led by three kills from Ashly Velazquez.

Barnes led the Falcons offensively with 18 kills, plus she earned 17 digs, while Ashly Velazquez finished with nine kills, five assists, and 15 digs. Paola Velazquez collected 31 assists and a match-high 32 defensive digs, and Fisher libero Edsyl Irizarry contributed 22 digs and five assists.

Before the match, Dow, Toni Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.), Pacheco, and Silveira were honored for their significant contributions to the Pride volleyball program. Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) was also recognized as she completes her final year of eligibility, and assistant coach John Carroll also received accolades as he finishes his master's degree at Regis.

Regis College (19-11) closes out the regular season with a GNAC tri-match in Northfield, Vt., Saturday, Oct. 29, facing host Norwich at 11 a.m. followed by Anna Maria at 1 p.m. Fisher (22-8) travels to face Elms College Saturday beginning at 4 p.m.