WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Regis College picked up two key league victories Saturday afternoon, defeating both University of Saint Joseph and Saint Joseph's College by the same 3-0 score in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's volleyball action at the O'Connell Center.
With the wins, Regis now has 16 victories this season, the most for the women's volleyball team since 2015. The Pride have also reached eight conference victories, the most league wins in one year since the program joined the GNAC in 2017.
Regis 3, University of Saint Joseph 0 (30-28, 25-18, 25-18)
Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Pride with 13 kills, while Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) finished with 10 kills, a .600 hitting percentage, and three total blocks. Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) notched a double-double with 34 assists and 12 digs, and Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) paced the Regis backline with 15 digs to go along with five assists.
The Pride scored the first three points of the match on kills by Montigny, Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.), and Mckinney, and then they reestablished their lead at 9-5 thanks to three kills from Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.). The Blue Jays battled back, eventually taking the lead at 15-14 on consecutive kills by Claire Quinn. The set continued to go back-and-forth, with USJ preventing Regis from closing it out six times, but the Pride finally finished off the opening set thanks to a Blue Jay service error and a solo block from Whalen.
Two kills by Montigny and one from Mckinney allowed Regis to take the early lead in the second set. The Pride would open a 17-11 advantage on a kill by Fagundo before the Blue Jays put together a 6-1 scoring run, led by four kills from Shannon Carey, to close to within one at 18-17. Regis responded with a 7-1 scoring stretch to close out the second set, led by two more kills from Montigny.
Regis scored four straight points early in the third set, including two kills by Whalen, but USJ fought back with a 6-2 scoring run to pull ahead, 10-8. The Pride took the lead in the set for good with a 6-1 scoring run, and then eventually clinched the set and the match on a kill by Mckinney and a Blue Jay attack error.
Carey led the Blue Jays with 13 kills, while Hannah Benson finished with nine kills and a match-high 16 digs. USJ was held to a .055 hitting percentage in the match as Regis collected 67 digs to prevent the home team from earning many easy points offensively.
Regis 3, Saint Joseph's College 0 (25-22, 25-9, 26-24)
Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) led the Pride with nine kills without an attack error for a .600 hitting percentage, plus she earned two service aces and seven digs. Whalen contributed six kills and three total blocks, Fagundo dished out 19 assists, and van der Meulen again paced the Regis backline with nine digs.
The Pride opened an 8-2 lead in the first set, capped by a service ace from Alyssa Garcia (Riverside, Calif.). Down by seven later in the set, the Monks battled back, going on an 8-3 scoring run to close to within two points at 21-19, but Regis would eventually close out the opening set on kills by Whalen and Montigny.
After the teams split the first six points of the second set, Regis put together a 12-3 scoring run, capped by consecutive kills by Tenorio and a service ace from Dow. The Pride continued to pull away, closing out the second set with a 10-2 scoring stretch, starting with two blocks by the combination of Whalen and Montigny.
The Pride maintained that momentum at the start of the third set, scoring the first six points with Whalen leading the way with two kills and a block assist. The Monks closed to within one at 10-9, but Regis extended its lead thanks to seven unanswered points. Down 21-14, Saint Joseph's College went on a 10-3 scoring run to tie the set at 24-24, but consecutive Monk errors allowed Regis to clinch the set and the match.
Sarah Quinn led the Monks with six kills, but as a team Saint Joseph's College posted more attack errors (27) than kills (21).
Regis College (16-5, 8-2 GNAC) steps out of conference for matches at UMass Boston Tuesday, Oct. 19, and at Suffolk Thursday, Oct. 21, both starting at 7 p.m. The Pride host a key GNAC tri-match next Saturday, Oct. 23, against Lasell and Johnson & Wales.