HENNIKER, N.H. – Regis College took a 2-1 match lead, but New England College won the fourth set to force a deciding fifth set, one taken by the Pride for a 3-2 victory (22-25, 25-22, 25-15, 16-25, 15-8) Tuesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at Bridges Gym.
Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) led the Pride with 14 kills, plus she collected eight digs, while Erin Gallagher (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.), and Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas) finished with eight kills apiece. Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) earned 22 assists, three service aces, and six digs, and Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) contributed 19 assists. Defensively, Butt led Regis at the net with seven total blocks, including five solo blocks, and Caroline Fuentes (Downey, Calif.) led the backline with 12 digs.
In the fifth set, kills by Veasey and Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.) allowed Regis to open a 6-2 lead and forced New England College to take timeout. After the Pilgrims closed to within two, the Pride scored three straight points, including a kill and a block assist by Samantha Turner (Concord, N.H.), to extend their advantage to 10-5. Butt closed out the set and the match with consecutive kills.
Butt had two kills and a block assist during a four-point Pride stretch in the opening set as Regis went ahead 13-10. After a kill by Gallagher put the Pride back on top, 19-18, the Pilgrims scored six unanswered points, led by two kills from Jada Small, to bring about set point. After Regis scored three straight points, New England College finally won the set on a kill by Dreka Griffin.
The second set was just as close, as Regis overcame a five-point deficit with five unanswered points, capped by consecutive service aces from Meg Adams (Ware, Mass.). Another 5-0 Pride run put the visitors ahead, 18-15, and then Turner earned consecutive kills as Regis pulled ahead late in the set, 23-18. The Pride would clinch the second set and tie the match on a block by Butt and a kill by Bartels.
Regis opened a three-point lead early in the third set and then scored six unanswered points to open a 16-8 advantage. The Pride kept expanding that lead, eventually closing out the third set by scoring the final three points, all on errors by the Pilgrims.
New England College (2-8) allowed Regis to score the first three points of the fourth set before putting together an 8-2 scoring run to pull ahead, 8-5. The Pilgrims scored six straight points later in the set, led by Maggie Dadmun with three service aces, to open a 19-9 lead. A service error by the Pride provided the final point for the Pilgrims, tying the match and forcing the deciding set.
Griffin led the Pilgrims with 12 kills and three solo blocks, while Dadmun finished with 17 assists, five service aces, and eight digs. Meaghan Six led the NEC defense with 14 digs to go along with four service aces, but 57 total errors by the Pilgrims hurt the home team's cause.
Regis (3-3) opens GNAC play Thursday night, Sept. 13, hosting Rivier University at Higgins Court starting at 7 p.m.