REGIS SWEEPS TRI-MATCH FROM NEWBURY AND WENTWORTH

WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's volleyball team wrapped up their 2014 regular season schedule with a pair of 3-0 victories over Newbury College and the Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon in Weston, Mass. Wentworth defeated Newbury, 3-1, in the other match of the day.

Regis enters the postseason at 22-8 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the NECC with the win over the Nighthawks (15-10, 5-3 NECC). The Pride have earned the No. 1 seed in the NECC Tournament and will host the Semifinals and Championship matches next Friday and Saturday. Wentworth finishes its season at 14-14 overall.

In a pregame ceremony, Regis honored its two seniors in Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) and Sara Casullo (Little Falls, N.Y.) for their contributions to Regis College and its athletic department.

Regis College 3, Newbury College 0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-15)
The Crimson and Gold hit .364 for the match, including a .429 percentage in the first game, en route to a 3-0 sweep of the Nighthawks. The Pride were led by 16 kills and five digs from Gracie Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Sam Bliss joined her in double figures with 11 kills and made it a double-double with 10 digs on the day. Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) added eight kills, while Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) had seven kills, four digs, and a pair of blocks. Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) posted a match-high 12 digs to go with four aces, while Tina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) handed out 43 assists.

Newbury was led by 11 kills from Courtney Banks (Corona, Calif.), while Lina Miranda (Brockton, Mass.) added eight kills of her own. Julia Leggett (Longivew, Wash.) led the Nighthawks defense with nine digs, with Meghan McDermott (Hampton, N.H.) notching seven digs of her own. Lindsey Clark (Venice, Calif.), Heather Parish (Tucson, Ariz.), and Banks each posted five digs apiece, with Parish dishing out 22 assists.

Wentworth Institute of Technology 3, Newbury College 1 (25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 25-22)
After Wentworth took an early 2-0 lead in the match, Newbury College battled back to force a fourth game, but the Leopards were able to rebound with a 25-22 win in game four to grab a 3-1 victory. Hannah Bailey (Plymouth, Mass.) led the Wentworth attack with 13 kills and Sydney Meyers (Arnold, Mich.) added 10 kills of her own. Shannon Ponce (San Jose, Calif.), Caroline Shea (Abington, Mass.), and Stephanie Nihan (Dracut, Mass.) each added five kills apiece.

Early in the second set, Shannon Ponce became the all-time assists leader in Wentworth program history, surpassing the record of 2,055. She finished the match with 35 assists and also added seven digs.

Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) and Amanda Hunton (Monroe, N.Y.) posted 10 digs apiece, and Curran also added five service aces.

Newbury's Courtney Banks had another strong match, leading the Nighthawks with 19 kills on the day. Lina Miranda and Kylie Kowalski (Wrightstown, N.J.) added eight kills apiece, and Maya Umoren (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in seven of her own.

Meghan McDermott entered the match needing 18 digs to reach the 1,000 dig plateau, and registered 20 of them in the setback. Heather Parish added 42 assists to her total for the day.

Regis College 3, Wentworth Institute of Technology 0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-21)
In a matchup of former Commonwealth Coast Conference foes, Regis College swept Wentworth behind 13 kills and three blocks from Kristina del Rey. Shay Faber (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added seven kills and four digs, while Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.) and Nicole Connolly chipped in four kills apiece. Tina Lathrop just missed a double-double with nine digs and 31 assists. Marilia Ramos posted a team-high 13 digs in the match.

The Pride had 10 service aces in the match led by five from Sam Bliss, who also added 12 digs.

For Wentworth, Stephanie Nihan and Hannah Bailey led the Leopards attack with four kills apiece. Caroline Shea and Jordan Young (Derry, N.H.) chipped in three kills apiece. Sam Curran had a match-high 17 digs, with Amanda Hunton adding eight of her own in the setback. Shannon Ponce handed out 16 assists to go with five digs.