BOSTON - Regis College was swept by Simmons University (25-12, 25-21, 25-20) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament quarterfinal match Tuesday night at the Holmes Sports Center.
Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) led the Pride with six kills and two service aces while Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) contributed 11 assists and seven digs. Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.) led Regis in digs with nine while also adding eight assists.
The Sharks started off hot in set one, going on a 5-0 run before an attack error finally put points on the board for the Pride. Simmons kept the pressure on Regis adding to their lead and forcing a Pride timeout with the home team leading 9-2. Mckinney, Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.), and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned kills after the timeout helping the Pride play more evenly with Simmons throughout the rest of the set.
The Pride faired slightly better in set two despite initially falling behind by a margin of 5-0 just like in the first set. Regis tightened the gap later in the set with a service ace from Dow sandwiched between two kills by Tenorio, forcing a Simmons timeout with the score at 13-9.
With Simmons only two points away from winning the set, Dow earned a kill followed by another service ace while an additional kill by Montigny cut the deficit to 23-18. Jayla Parnell finished the set for Simmons with a kill to take a 2-0 match lead.
With their backs against the wall, the Pride battled back against the Sharks in set three, fighting to a 10-10 draw capped off by a service ace from Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.). From there Simmons began to turn the tide, going on a 6-0 scoring run to take a commanding lead over Regis. A Simmons service error and another kill by Dow brought the Pride within three late in the set but a kill by Claire Connors solidified the victory for Simmons.
With the loss Regis College (20-13) concludes this year's campaign, finishing with a 9-4 record in GNAC play. Simmons University (17-10) goes on to face Rivier on the road in the GNAC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 3, beginning at 7:00 p.m.