Regis Women’s Volleyball Takes Court for Fall Campaign
WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's volleyball team has been hard at work over the past 10 days preparing for a full schedule of matches, starting Wednesday, Sept. 1.
The Pride travel to Worcester to face WPI, followed by contests next week at New England College and at Eastern Nazarene. The home opener is Wednesday, Sept. 15, against Mitchell College, with the conference slate set to begin during Regis Fest Saturday, Sept. 25.
Josh Anderson, starting his first year at the helm of the Pride, welcomes back 12 players from the 2019 roster. Eight student-athletes will be making their competition debut for Regis at a variety of positions, hoping to contribute to the improvement of the program.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to a sense of normalcy with practice and games," Anderson said. "All the players have been working real hard during preseason, and we are getting excited for the start of the regular season."
Senior co-captain Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) collected 165 kills in 2019, while junior Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) led the team with a .281 hitting percentage and 50 service aces as she finished with 159 kills and 62 total blocks two years ago. The Pride also has experience at setter in senior Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.), 10th on the program's career assists list, and junior Karly Sanborn (Gilmanton, N.H.).
Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.), the other co-captain this season, led Regis defensively in 2019 with 372 digs, plus she was second on the squad with 38 service aces. Fellow seniors Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.), Luinet Melendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico), and Jordan Sterenberg (Oceanside, N.Y.) will help establish a veteran presence for the squad.
Five-time defending conference champion Johnson & Wales was the unanimous selection at the top of the GNAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. Rivier finished in second place with 177 points, followed by Simmons in third place with 166 points. Regis ended up in seventh place with 111 points, between sixth place Colby-Sawyer (113 points) and eighth place Saint Joseph's College (109 points).
"Our goal is to make the conference playoffs, and anything can happen from there," continued Anderson.
The Pride face Rivier as part of a tri-match at Albertus Magnus Saturday, Oct. 2, followed by a home contest against Simmons Wednesday, Oct. 6. Regis hosts traditional rival Lasell and conference favorite Johnson & Wales during a tri-match on the penultimate weekend of the league schedule Saturday, Oct. 23. The top eight teams in the final regular season standings advance into the GNAC Tournament, with the winner of the championship match Saturday, Nov. 6, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
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