Women’s Volleyball Loses to Plymouth State

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College was able to extend Thursday night's volleyball match into a fourth set, but Plymouth State regained control to defeat the Pride, 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 18-25, 25-17), in a non-conference contest at Higgins Court.

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) led the Pride with her fourth double-double of the season, collecting 17 kills and 13 digs. Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) finished with seven kills and three block assists, while Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) also had three block assists to go along with six kills. Defensively, Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) led Regis at the net with six total blocks, libero Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) collected 10 digs, and Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) contributed eight digs to go along with 20 assists.

After losing the first two sets, Regis took the early lead in the third set, 5-3, on a kill by Veasey and consecutive blocks by Pacheco and Julia Pelland (Brockton, Mass.). The Pride would put together an 11-4 scoring run to extend their advantage to 20-11, and then the home team closed out the third set on a kill by Whalen.

Plymouth State (12-1) would score six unanswered points early in the fourth set, led by Carabeth Norklun with two kills and a block assist, and then the Panthers would rattle off seven straight points, featuring consecutive service aces by Alexis Bowers, to pull ahead, 16-6. The two teams basically traded points the rest of the way, with Norklun earning the match-clinching kill.

Norklun and Francie Shaffer led the Panthers with 10 kills apiece, while Bowers and Maria Wimpey earned seven kills and two block assists each. Setter Alexa Price accumulated 31 assists, five kills, and nine digs, and libero Alisha Flanagan added 18 digs and three service aces to the winning effort.

The first set was the closest of the night with eight ties and four lead changes, but the Panthers took the lead for good midway through the set on a kill by Shaffer. After Wimpey closed out the first set with a kill, Plymouth State put together a 9-2 scoring run early in the second set, capped by kills from Price and Shaffer. Veasey attempted to keep Regis alive with three kills late in the set, but consecutive Pride errors clinched the second set for the Panthers.

Plymouth State heads to Newport, R.I., this Saturday, Sept. 21, for a tri-match hosted by Salve Regina, first facing the host Seahawks at 11 a.m. before taking on St. Joseph's of Long Island at 1 p.m.

Regis (3-7) also participates in a tri-match Saturday, but the Pride will be facing two Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponents in Boston, starting with a match against Lasell at 12 p.m. The Pride will then take on host Simmons at 2 p.m.