WESTON, Mass. – Regis College and Daniel Webster College traded sets all night but the Pride came out on top with a 3-2 marathon victory over the Eagles on Wednesday night in New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball action. The Pride used set scores of 25-10, 18-25, 26-24, 11-25, 15-11 in the victory.
With the win, Regis improves to 11-16 overall and 4-3 in the NECC while the Eagles fall to 13-10 and 4-3 as well. The two teams are currently tied for fourth in the league as the regular season wraps up this weekend.
The first set began as a back-and-forth battle before an Olivia Foley (Andover, Mass.) kill and back-to-back errors by the Eagles prompted a DWC timeout at 13-8. Out of the break, the Pride rattled off six straight points to take a 19-8 lead including a block by Foley and Julie Endara (Boca Raton, Fla.) and a Sara Casullo (Little Falls, N.Y.) service ace. A Regis error and a Jennifer Finneran (Barnstead, N.H.) service ace would be the only two points the Eagles would register for the rest of the game as Regis took set one, 25-10.
Daniel Webster came out firing in the second set as they built a quick 8-4 lead capped off by a pair of Chelsey Crawford (Westfield, Mass.) service aces that forced a Regis timeout. The Eagles tacked on two more points to make it 10-4, but Regis climbed back into the match and trailed 12-11 following a Vanessa Noesi (Puerta Plata, D.R.) kill. The Eagles kept the Pride at bay, never giving up their lead, and finished the match on an 8-3 run to win set two, 25-18, and tie the match at 1-1.
In the third set, the Pride fell behind early at 15-9, but rallied to tie the match at 16-16 following a Sara Gold (North Hollywood, Calif.) service ace. The two teams traded leads before an Endara kill forced a DWC timeout with the Pride on top, 20-18. A Megan Pratt (Rockland, Mass.) service ace out of the timeout stretched the Pride lead to 21-18, but the Pride could not hold of the Eagles as they tied the score at 24-all on a Regis error. A Samantha Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) kill gave Regis a 25-24 lead, followed by a Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) service ace that sealed the third set, 26-24.
The fourth set was all Daniel Webster as they dominated the game, 25-11, and forced a fifth and deciding set. Chelsey Crawford posted five kills in the set, while Jennifer Finneran added two of her own, as the Eagles took advantage of the Pride's -.348 hitting percentage in the game.
In the final game, a Julie Endara service ace followed by a Jackie Silver (West Hills, Calif.) kill gave Regis a 10-6 lead in the fifth set, forcing a Daniel Webster timeout. The Eagles forced their way back into the game at 12-10 after a Pride error, and trailed 12-11 following a Samantha Hill (Hudson, N.H.) kill.
Two quick points including a Samantha Bliss kill followed by a block by Endara and Vanessa Noesi made it 14-11 and forced the second and final timeout by DWC. Bliss ended the game with her 10th kill on a pass from Endara that wrapped up the final set, 15-11.
The Pride were led by a match-high 13 kills from Jackie Silver, while Bliss added 10 kills, four aces, and seven digs. Marilia Ramos handed out 28 assists and added nine digs, while Sara Gold led the defense with a match-high 18 digs. Vanessa Noesi registered six total blocks on the night.
Daniel Webster was led by 10 kills apiece from Jennifer Finneran, Chelsey Crawford, and Samantha Hill. Brier Temple (Concord, N.H.) also added six kills and a team-high 16 digs. Ally Hayden (Bedford, N.H.) handed out 29 assists, while Finneran added four total blocks.
The Crimson and Gold waste no time in returning to action as the Pride hosts Pine Manor College in a non-league game on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Daniel Webster wraps up its regular season with a tri-match on Saturday afternoon that begins with a 10:00 a.m. NECC match against Bay Path College.