WESTON, Mass. – In a tight match throughout the night, Simmons University prevailed over Regis College, 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22), Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball match at Higgins Court.
Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Pride with 12 kills, while Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) finished with 11 kills on 19 attack attempts without an error for a .579 hitting percentage and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) dished out 42 assists. Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) earned eight kills and a team-high 21 digs, Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) also collected eight kills along with seven total blocks, Tyler Wax (San Diego, Calif.) contributed 17 digs, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 11 digs and three service aces.
Simmons opened a 10-4 advantage in the opening set, capped by a service ace from Jordan Hacker. After the Pride closed to within two on a block by Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) and Montigny, the Sharks put together a 7-1 scoring run, including consecutive kills by Jayla Parnell. Regis scored six unanswered points, including two kills by Dow, to cut its deficit to two at 23-21, but a kill by Parnell and a Pride error clinched the first set for the Sharks.
Once again, Simmons took the early lead in the second set, going ahead 8-5 on a kill by Parnell and a service ace from Hacker. Two kills by Mckinney and a service ace from Alyssa Garcia (Riverside, Calif.) started a 9-3 scoring run that put the Pride ahead, 14-11. In a set that featured 14 ties and seven lead changes, Regis rallied from a 23-21 deficit to close out the set with a 5-1 scoring run, capped by a kill from Montigny.
The Sharks again took control early in the third set, pulling ahead 12-6 after a kill by Amanda Fortune. Regis closed to within two later in the set, but Simmons held off the home team's rally, clinching the third set on a kill by Claire Conners to take a 2-1 match lead.
Two kills and a service ace from Sydney Iannantuono as well as two kills from Conners allowed the Sharks to open a 7-2 advantage in the fourth set. The Pride again fought back, closing to within two on a kill by Whalen, but three straight Simmons kills started a 7-2 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Fortune. Regis came back from a seven-point deficit with a 6-1 scoring run, but Simmons finally closed out the set and the match on a kill by Conners.
Conners led the Sharks with 14 kills, followed by Fortune with 13 kills and Iannantuono with 11 kills, four service aces, and 12 digs. Kat Simeonidis notched a double-double with 46 assists and 15 digs, and Hacker led Simmons with 18 defensive digs along with five service aces.
Regis College (12-5, 4-2 GNAC) heads to Franklin, Mass., to face Dean College Sunday, Oct. 10, starting at 1 p.m. Simmons (10-3, 4-1 GNAC) travels to Chicopee, Mass., to take on Elms College Saturday, Oct. 9, beginning at 1 p.m.