Women’s Volleyball Falls in Five-Set Thriller

NEW LONDON, Conn. - Regis College won two of the first three sets, but Mitchell College rallied from behind to defeat the Pride, 3-2 (15-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11), Wednesday night in a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball match at the Yarnall Athletic Center.

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched her second triple-double of the season with 10 kills, 14 assists, and 12 digs. Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) led the Pride with 11 kills, and Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.) also notched a double-double with 16 assists and 11 digs. Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) led all players with a season-high 24 digs, and Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.) contributed a career-high 18 digs.

Regis scored the first four points of the match, but Mitchell quickly responded to tie the set at 6-6. The Pride put together an 8-2 scoring run to open a six-point advantage, followed by an 8-3 scoring run to close out the opening set.

Mitchell (7-4) took a 6-2 lead early in the second set before the Pride rattled off six straight points, led by two kills from Albers and two kills from Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.). Down 14-11, the Mariners put together an 11-3 scoring stretch, led by Olivia DeLoach with two service aces and a kill, to pull ahead 22-17. Regis closed to within two points on kills by Mckinney and Dow as well as a service ace by Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.), but Mitchell scored the final three points of the second set, capped by consecutive service aces from Molly Steel-Miller.

The Pride opened a 9-5 lead in the third set on kills by Tenorio and Miller, but the Mariners would close to within one on a kill by Sarah Aviles and a service ace by Jenna Blankenship. Regis remained ahead throughout the set, eventually clinching it by scoring four of the final five points, including kills by Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Albers, and Dow.

After a solo block by Dow tied the fourth set at 6-6, Mitchell pulled ahead with three straight points and eventually opened a five-point advantage at 16-11. The Pride closed to within two on an ace from Miller, but Mitchell scored five of the next six points, and then the home team withstood another Regis comeback to close out the fourth set on a kill by Steel-Miller.

The two teams split the first eight points of the fifth set before Mitchell scored five unanswered points, capped by a kill from Allison Blum. Regis came within two points on a kill by Albers, but the Mariners used kills by DeLoach and Aviles to bring about match point, and then the home team closed out the set and the match on another kill from DeLoach.

DeLoach notched a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs, plus she earned four service aces, while Steel-Miller finished with 10 kills and three service aces. Claire Binfield also finished with a double-double as she accumulated 30 assists and 12 digs, Blum contributed nine kills and 13 digs, and Julia Lent led the Mariners with 16 digs.

Regis College (9-7) heads to Providence, R.I., for a tri-match Saturday, Oct. 1, first facing conference foe Johnson and Wales at 10 a.m. before a non-conference match against Salve Regina at 12 p.m.