WESTON, Mass. - Regis College got off to a strong start Saturday with a 3-0 victory (28-26, 25-17, 25-17) over Suffolk University, but the Pride could not maintain their momentum, losing to UMass Dartmouth, 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-16) to split its first home tri-match of the season in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at Higgins Court.
REGIS 3, SUFFOLK 0
Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) led a balanced offensive attack with nine kills, plus she collected seven digs, while Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished with seven kills, a .545 hitting percentage, 16 assists, and nine defensive digs. Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) went 6-for-9 on attack attempts without an error to go along with four service aces and four block assists, Allie Bietz (Branford, Conn.) dished out 12 assists, and Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) paced the backline with 10 digs.
Suffolk took an early 8-6 lead after kills by Jessica Weber and Grace Cervenka, but Regis rattled off eight unanswered points. The Rams quickly struck back with a 9-3 scoring run, capped by kills from Jayla Martinez and Cervenka, to tie the set at 17-17. Suffolk created a set point opportunity after a kill by Sami Shore, but Regis scored four of the final five points of the first set, taking advantage of Ram errors to win the set.
After Shore tied the second set at 8-8 with a kill, the Pride put together a 12-4 scoring run, punctuated by a kill and a service ace from Mckinney as well as a block by Fabiano and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.). Regis eventually clinched the second set on kills by Dow and Mola.
Regis scored five of the first six points of the third set, and then extended its lead to 12-6 thanks to two kills by Tenorio. The Rams scored five of the next six points to close to within two points at 13-11, but the Pride would eventually score seven unanswered points to open a 22-13 advantage. Suffolk battled back with four straight points, featuring consecutive kills by McKenna Keowen, but Regis earned the final three points of the match as Mckinney and Dow notched kills to close out the contest.
Weber led the Rams with 10 kills and a .391 hitting percentage, while Aislinn Lanigan finished with 14 assists and five digs. Keowen contributed seven kills and eight digs, and Morgan Kelsey added three service aces and a team-high nine digs.
UMASS DARTMOUTH 3, REGIS 0
Dow paced the Pride with nine kills and four block assists, while Fabiano ended up with six kills and three block assists. Mckinney dished out 19 assists to go along with five kills and five digs, with Tenorio and Mola tying for the team lead with 11 defensive digs apiece.
UMass Dartmouth won five of the first six points of the match, capped by consecutive kills from Allison Pate. Later in the set, Regis closed to within one at 14-13 on an ace by Mola, but another 5-1 scoring run for the Corsairs extended the visitors' lead back to five points. The Pride battled back, tying the set at 24-24 on a kill by Dow, but UMass Dartmouth won the opening set on a kill and a service ace from Maggie Sullivan.
The Corsairs opened a 6-1 lead in the second set and then extended that advantage with a 13-3 scoring run, including two kills by Zaylie Tamashiro and two service aces from Sabrina Bordone. The Pride attempted to close their deficit with a 9-3 scoring stretch, but the Corsairs would finish the set thanks to kills by Gabriella Monico and Tamashiro.
Back-to-back service aces by Emily Pogorelec helped the Corsairs take another early lead in the third set, but Regis quickly responded with four straight points, followed by another three-point run to pull ahead, 10-8. UMass Dartmouth took the lead for good with four unanswered points, and then it closed out the set and the match on a 10-2 scoring run, featuring five kills by Monico and capped by a kill from Chelsea Sanker.
Monico led the Corsairs with 12 kills, while Tamashiro earned seven kills on a .538 hitting percentage along with 14 digs. Bordone finished with 22 assists, two service aces, and six digs, and Pogorelec led her team with three service aces and 16 digs.
In the middle match of the day, Suffolk defeated UMass Dartmouth, 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 27-25). Weber led the Rams with 14 kills, followed by a double-double from Keowen with 13 kills and 18 digs. Kelsey finished with four service aces and a team-high 23 digs. Sullivan led the Corsairs with eight kills, and Pogorelec paced the defensive effort with a match-high 25 digs.
Regis College (3-4) hits the road Tuesday, Sept. 12, to face Worcester State at 7 p.m. before hosting Salve Regina and Husson in another tri-match next Saturday, Sept. 16, beginning at 10 a.m. Suffolk (2-5) plays at Fitchburg State Tuesday night at 6 p.m., and UMass Dartmouth (3-4) hosts a tournament next weekend, starting with a match against Roger Williams Friday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m.