WESTON, Mass. – Thanks to a strong defensive effort at the net, Regis College was able to come back from dropping the first set to defeat Wentworth, 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16), Thursday night in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at Higgins Court.
The Pride collected 14 team blocks, the most since a 17-block performance in last year's GNAC quarterfinal against Norwich. Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) notched a career-high 10 total blocks, while Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) notched six block assists each. Mckinney nearly notched a triple-double with 12 kills, 15 assists, and eight digs, Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) finished with nine kills and four block assists, and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) added five kills along with team-high marks of six service aces and 16 defensive digs.
Wentworth took an early 4-1 lead in the opening set, starting with two kills from Ashley Cao, but the Pride responded with four unanswered points to pull ahead, 5-4. The momentum swung back and forth until the Leopards went on a 9-1 scoring run, led by three kills and a service ace from Helen Barthe. Regis closed to within five on consecutive Wentworth errors, but the Leopards closed out the first set on back-to-back attack errors by the Pride.
Tenorio earned a kill and two service aces as Regis opened an 8-2 advantage in the second set, but Wentworth quickly responded, putting together a 10-4 scoring run, led by Cao with two kills and a service ace as well as Riley Schoonmaker with three kills, to pull ahead, 14-13. Down 17-15 after a kill by Riley Waggoner, the Pride scored the final 10 points of the set, capped by a service ace from Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.), to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Pride raced out to a 6-1 lead in the third set, capped by a block from Dow and Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.), but four straight points by the Leopards, including a solo block from Waggoner, closed the visiting team's deficit to one. Regis withstood several Wentworth rallies to maintain the lead the rest of the set, scoring the final three points on consecutive kills by Tenorio and a kill by Montigny.
After Wentworth scored the first three points of the fourth set, Regis scored the next five points, led by three straight service aces from Tenorio. After a service ace by Cao brought the Leopards within one at 8-7, the Pride went on a 7-2 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Dow, to open a six-point lead. A kill by Albers extended the Regis advantage to eight at 20-12, but the Leopards scored four unanswered points to cut their deficit in half. Regis closed out the set and the match with five straight points, punctuated by a kill from Mckinney.
Schoonmaker led the Leopard offense with 10 kills, while Cao also came close to a triple-double with 10 assists, 14 digs, and eight kills. Lexi Zabloudil notched her own double-double with 17 assists and 16 digs, and Waggoner finished with eight kills and four total blocks. Barthe earned six kills and 13 digs, and Peyton Tague contributed 12 digs and six assists as the Leopards finished with more digs than the Pride, 70-54.
Regis College (7-6) hosts Dean College and Albertus Magnus College in a GNAC tri-match as part of Regis Fest Saturday, Sept. 24, with the first match between the Pride and Bulldogs starting at 10 a.m. Wentworth (7-5) travels to face Western New England in a Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup Saturday beginning at 12 p.m.