WESTON, Mass. - Regis College head coach Josh Anderson earned his 100th career women's collegiate volleyball coaching victory as the Pride defeated Salve Regina University and Husson University Saturday as part of a non-conference tri-match at Higgins Court.
In his third season at the helm, Anderson has now won 49 matches with the Pride to go along with 52 victories he collected as the head coach at Colby-Sawyer College. With the team's next victory, he will become the fourth coach in Regis women's volleyball history with at least 50 wins for the Pride.
REGIS 3, SALVE REGINA 1 (26-24, 27-29, 25-23, 25-21)
Five different Pride players earned at least eight kills in the first match of the day, led by Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) with 15 kills, plus she collected 11 digs for a double-double. Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) also notched a double-double with 12 kills and a team-high 22 digs, Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) finished with 11 kills and four block assists, and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) contributed nine kills and five block assists. Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) added eight kills, seven digs, and four total blocks as Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) dished out 38 assists and Emily Hart (Meriden, Conn.) added 20 digs to the winning effort.
The Pride raced out to an 8-1 lead in the first set, but Salve Regina quickly responded, putting together a 17-6 scoring stretch to pull ahead, 18-14. After a timeout, Regis scored four of the next five points, eventually tying the set twice on kills by Mola and Montigny. The Seahawks scored the next two points on a kill by Siena DeCicco and a service ace from Sydney Ramsey to create two set point opportunities, but the Pride won the final four points of the opening set, capped by a service ace from Hart.
Regis scored four of the first five points of the second set, but Salve Regina went on a 9-3 scoring run, capped by a service ace from Brighton Solheim. The set went back-and-forth, with the Seahawks earning the first two chances to close it out before the Pride picked up two of its own chances thanks to a service ace by Toni Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) and a kill from Mola. Salve Regina clinched the second set thanks to kills by Lauren Hoyle and Lucy Swanson as well as a block by Swanson and Ramsey.
The third set featured 12 ties and six lead changes as momentum switched sides several times. After Salve Regina took a 14-12 lead, Regis went on a 6-1 scoring run, capped by a kill from Tenorio, but the Seahawks would eventually come within one point at 23-22 on consecutive kills by Hoyle. After a Seahawk service error brought about set point for Regis, Swanson kept the visitors alive with a kill, but a block by Mckinney and Montigny allowed the Pride to take the 2-1 match lead.
Thanks in part to three kills by Solheim, the Seahawks pulled out to a 9-5 lead in the fourth set, but the Pride put together a 14-4 scoring run, punctuated by consecutive service aces from Mckinney, to open a 23-15 advantage. Salve Regina kept battling, scoring the next six points in a row, but the Pride finally settled down to close out the set and the match as Fabiano notched a kill before joining Dow on the final block of the contest.
Solheim led the Seahawks with 19 kills, plus she notched a double-double with 15 digs, as did Swanson with 11 kills and 11 digs. Hoyle earned 13 kills as DeCicco finished with 41 assists and six digs, while Kate Murphy paced the Seahawk backline with 24 defensive digs.
REGIS 3, HUSSON 0 (25-13, 25-12, 25-17)
Fabiano led the Pride with 10 kills in 19 attack attempts without an error for a .526 hitting percentage as several players saw action in the contest. Tenorio paced Regis with six service aces and six digs in the first two sets, Allie Bietz (Brandford, Conn.) earned 13 assists and was 4-for-5 on attack attempts, and Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.) led the backline with eight digs.
Husson closed to within one point early in the first set on a block by Delaney Gross and Cheyenne Young, but Regis quickly pulled away thanks to a 15-4 scoring run, capped by kills from Mola and Fabiano. After a quick three-point run by the Eagles, the Pride closed out the opening set with five unanswered point, featuring consecutive service aces from Mola.
The Pride scored the first six points of the second set, but the Eagles worked their way back within two points at 9-7, including back-to-back service aces by Janna Preskorn. Regis took control with an 11-1 scoring run, featuring four service aces from Tenorio, on its way to winning the second set and taking a 2-0 match lead.
Three consecutive service aces by Preskorn allowed the Eagles to stay close in the third set, with a service ace by Beatrice Tursi and a kill from Cam Schweitzer tying the set at 12-12. The Pride took the lead for good with three straight points, including kills by Ava Loud (Abington, Mass.) and Bietz. Regis closed out the set and the match as Lauren Tuttle (Stratham, N.H.) earned a kill before joining Fabiano on a block.
Preskorn was Husson's top player with eight kills, five service aces, and six digs, but the Eagles fell victim to 17 service aces by Regis, the highest for the team this season. In addition, the Pride hit a season-high .316 in the match, making just nine attack errors while collecting 34 kills in 79 attempts.
In the middle match of the day, Salve Regina swept Husson, 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-6). Solheim led the Seahawks with 13 kills along with eight digs as DeCicco finished with 28 assists, three service aces, six digs, and five block assists. Preskorn paced the Eagles with seven kills, followed by Young with six kills.
Regis College (6-4) heads into Boston to face Wentworth Thursday, Sept. 21, starting at 6 p.m. Salve Regina (7-2) opens its conference season at Wellesley Tuesday beginning at 7 p.m., while Husson (0-8) also begins league play with a trip to face Maine Maritime next Saturday, Sept. 23, beginning at 2 p.m.