Regis Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Saturday Tri-Match

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College bounced back after Thursday's loss, defeating Dean College, 3-0 (25-5, 25-19, 25-8), and Curry College, 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-22, 26-24), Saturday in non-conference women's collegiate volleyball action at Higgins Court.

Regis 3, Dean 0

Regis took control early in the morning match by scoring 21 of the final 24 points of the opening set, led by an offense that hit .579 in the first set with 12 kills and just one attack error in 19 attempts. Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) led the Pride with four kills, two service aces, and five digs in the first set.

Dean (3-5) fell behind by as many as 11 points at 14-3 in the second set, but the Bulldogs started chipping away at their deficit, going on spurts of four straight points and six straight points, with Kait Anderson and Nicole Defosses leading the second scoring run with two kills apiece, to close to within four at 22-18. A block by Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) and a kill by Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.) closed out the second set in Regis's favor.

Regis again quickly built a double-digit lead in the third set, going ahead 18-3 before Dean scored three straight points, thanks in part to kills by Anderson and Paola Gonzalez. The Pride closed out the set and the match with a 7-2 scoring run, including two kills from Brianna Paris (Everett, Mass.) and capped by kills from Caroline Fuentes (Downey, Calif.), Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.), and Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas).

Veasey led the Pride with 12 kills in 19 attempts with just one error for a .579 hitting percentage, plus she collected seven digs. Pelland earned four kills and four service aces, Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) dished out 11 assists apiece, and Fuentes led the team with six service aces and 12 digs.

Anderson produced the majority of the Dean offense with nine kills, while Defosses finished with 12 assists and five digs. Defensively, Bulldog libero Shelby Smith led the team with seven digs.

Regis 3, Curry 1

In the afternoon contest, Regis scored the first three points, including consecutive service aces from van der Meulen, but Curry would rattle off eight unanswered points, led by two service aces from Lexi Pereira. The Pride responded with a 13-1 scoring run, led by Emma Morales Cestero (San Juan, Puerto Rico) with four service aces, to retake the lead at 16-9.

Curry (2-6) took its turn with a scoring run, putting together a 9-2 stretch to tie the first set at 18-18, but Regis struck back with five of the next six points. Pereira earned a kill and a service ace to pull the Colonels within two at 23-21, but the Pride clinched the first set with a Curry attack error and a block by Butt and Veasey.

The Colonels scored 10 straight points early in the second set to an 11-2 advantage, led by four service aces from Jordyn Keith. The Pride briefly rallied a couple of time, including four straight points late in the set capped by consecutive kills from Veasey, but back-to-back kills by Pereira closed out the second set for Curry and tied the match at one set apiece.

Curry scored the first six points of the third set and maintained that advantage through the vast majority of the set. Down 21-17, Regis used two kills by Butt to score four straight points and tie the set at 21-21. The Colonels retook the lead on a kill by Amanda Wood, but the Pride rebounded and scored the final four points of the set, with consecutive kills by Butt giving Regis a 2-1 match lead.

Three kills and a block assist by Veasey allowed Regis to open an 11-5 lead in the fourth set. Curry rallied back from being down 22-16, scoring seven of the next eight points, with a service ace from Shea Mathews tying the set at 23-23 with a service ace. The Pride clinched the set and the match with kills by Butt and Gallagher.

Veasey notched her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 19 digs, plus she assisted on three blocks. Butt collected a season-high 12 kills as van der Meulen led the Pride offense with 24 assists to go along with four service aces and six digs. Defensively, Pelland paced the Pride at the net with six total blocks, and Fuentes earned over 20 digs for the first time in her career, ending up with 28 digs.

Pereira led the Colonels with 14 kills, plus she earned four service aces, four total blocks, and eight digs. Curry setter Alexis Bell notched a double-double with 36 assists and 15 digs, Wood contributed 10 kills on a .375 hitting percentage along with four blocks, Keith came off the bench and finished with seven service aces and 11 digs, and Mathews led the Curry defense with 23 digs.

In the middle match of the day, Curry swept Dean, 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-14). Wood earned 11 kills on 15 attempts with just one attack error for a .667 hitting percentage, while Anderson paced the Bulldogs with seven kills and six digs. Curry hosts Western New England Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 6 p.m., while Dean plays a doubleheader at Pine Manor Tuesday, Sept. 18, with matches at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Regis (5-4) will play three matches in five days next week, starting with non-conference home contests against Bridgewater State Tuesday, Sept. 18, and Lesley Thursday, Sept. 20, both at 6 p.m., before heading to Standish, Maine, to face GNAC foe Saint Joseph's College next Saturday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m.