Pride Women’s Volleyball Earns Key GNAC Win

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College picked up a key Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory, defeating Saint Joseph's College, 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-12), Wednesday night in women's collegiate volleyball action at Higgins Court.

Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) notched her 10^th double-double of the season, leading the Pride with 17 kills and 15 digs, plus she posted a .306 hitting percentage and contributed two solo blocks. Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) finished with 11 kills, and Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) added eight kills and three service aces. Tori Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) collected 23 assists, two kills, and eight digs, and Meg Adams (Ware, Mass.) added 11 digs and three service aces.

Regis scored the first five points of the match, capped by consecutive kills from Veasey, before Saint Joseph's College quickly responded with four unanswered points. Two more kills by Veasey helped the Pride establish a four-point advantage, but the Monks put together a 6-2 scoring run, led by three kills from Olivia Kent, to tie the opening set at 17-17.

The Pride rattled off four straight points, including kills by Samantha Silveira (East Taunton, Mass.) and Dow, to open a 23-18 advantage, but the Monks battled back with four consecutive points, capped by a service ace from Hanna Holden. After a Regis timeout, the Pride closed out the first set on a kill by Whalen and a Monk attack error.

Regis took an early 5-2 lead in the second set before a block by Holden and Sarah Quinn pulled the Monks into a 6-6 tie. A kill by Ondris and a service ace from Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) helped the Pride open a three-point lead, and Regis would continue to extend on that advantage, eventually scoring the final four points of the second set, punctuated by a kill from Whalen.

Saint Joseph's (7-15, 4-3 GNAC) scored four of the first five points of the third set, led by Kelsey Bickford with a block assist, a kill, and a service ace. Down 13-7 after a kill by Erin Olson, Regis battled back, going on an 8-1 scoring run, led by Veasey with three kills and two solo blocks, to pull ahead, 15-14.

The Monks responded with seven unanswered points, including two kills by Laura Fortier, to jump back on top, 21-15. The Pride closed to within two at 24-22, but a bad serve clinched the third set for Saint Joseph's College, extending the match.

Kills by Quinn and Nicole Baron put Saint Joseph's ahead early in the fourth set, 4-1, before five straight Regis points, starting with a kill and a service ace by Dow, put the Pride on top. A service ace from Baron and a solo block by Olson gave the Monks a 10-9 lead, but the Pride quickly gained the momentum, closing out the set and the match with a 16-2 scoring run, led by Whalen with four kills and clinched by Veasey with a kill.

Olson led the Monks at the net with nine kills and seven total blocks, while Quinn finished with seven kills, six digs, and four total blocks. Holden collected 18 assists and eight digs, and libero Madison Provencher paced the Saint Joseph's defense with 15 digs.

Saint Joseph's heads to Albertus Magnus Saturday, Oct. 19, for a tri-match, first facing Rutgers-Newark at 1 p.m. before taking on the host Falcons in a conference contest at 3 p.m.

Regis (8-13, 3-3 GNAC) hosts a non-conference tri-match Saturday, Oct. 19, first taking on Wentworth at 12 noon. After the Leopards face Southern Maine at 2 p.m., the Pride will compete against the Huskies at 4 p.m.