WESTON, Mass. – Regis College made it four-straight wins with a 3-1 victory over Simmons College on Thursday night in non-conference women's volleyball action in Weston, Mass. The Pride (7-4) used set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 12-25, and 25-17 in the win over the Sharks (4-3).
Regis head coach Scott Wright picked up his 60th career win with the women's volleyball program and is now tied with Chris Corbett (1994-1997) for the most wins in program history.
The Pride staked themselves to an early 9-5 lead using a pair of kills from Sydney Trusty (Durham, Conn.), a kill from Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas), and a Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) service ace. Out of a timeout, Simmons got two quick kills from Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 9-7, but the Pride would eventually take a 14-10 lead after a Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.) kill.
Four-straight points by the Sharks tied the game at 17-all following a Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) kill, and the two teams would trade points until back-to-back errors by Simmons gave Regis a 20-18 lead. Connolly extended the lead to 21-18 with a kill and forced another Simmons timeout. The Sharks slowly chipped away and trailed only 24-23 after an Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) service ace, but Trusty ended the game with a kill down the line to give Regis the 25-23 victory.
The second set started much the same as Regis jumped out to a 13-5 lead following a Shay Faber (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) ace, and the Pride eventually led by as many as 11 at 19-8 following a Crystina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) ace. Again, Simmons would claw their way back into it, forcing a Regis timeout with the score 21-15 after a pair of Hart service aces and a Pride error. It was too little too late, however, as the Pride took advantage of three Simmons errors and a Mosher kill to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-17 win in game two.
With their backs against the wall, Simmons dominated the third game, using nine service aces in the set – including three apiece from Duke and Cailin Frederickson (Columbia, Md.) – to force a fourth game.
Simmons appeared to have all the momentum to start game four as they took a 4-0 lead after three-straight aces from Sarah Woodward. This time Regis clawed their way back into the contest, tying the match at 4-4 after a Shay Faber kill, and eventually taking a 10-6 lead on a Faber ace.
The Pride led 19-11 after a Graciella Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) kill, and kept the Sharks at bay to hold on for a 25-17 win in the final game to take the match, 3-1.
Molinari led the Regis attack with eight kills and eight digs. Sydney Trusty and Nicole Connolly added seven kills apiece and combined for 14 digs on the night, while Rachel Bartels had five kills and a pair of blocks. Crystina Lathrop posted a double-double of 28 assists and 12 digs to go with a team-high three aces.
Cailin Frederickson led Simmons with seven kills, three aces, and three digs. Sarah Woodward and Abby Hart added four kills apiece and the duo combined for nine service aces in the match. Andalyn Duke handed out 16 assists to go with seven digs and four aces, while Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) posted a team-high 11 digs on the night.
The Crimson and Gold return to action on Saturday when they travel to Rivier University for a tri-match with Wellesley College (1:00 p.m.) and the host Raiders (3:00 p.m.). Simmons travels to Brandeis University for a 10:00 a.m. meeting with the Judges followed by a 12:00 p.m. match with Roger Williams University.