Pride Volleyball Earns Double Sweep Saturday

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College received contributions from numerous players as the Pride won both matches over Fitchburg State, 3-0, Saturday in a collegiate women's volleyball doubleheader at Higgins Court.

Regis 3, Fitchburg State 0 (25-11, 25-8, 25-19)

Kai Berning (Corvallis, Ore.) led the Pride offensively with 10 kills in 15 attack attempts without an error for a .667 hitting percentage, with Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) collecting five kills apiece. The Pride accumulated 15 service aces, led by Tyler Wax (San Diego, Calif.) with five aces, plus she was one of three Regis players along with Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Luinet Melendez (Ponce, Puerto Rico) to pace the defense with seven digs apiece.

Mckinney earned consecutive kills early in the opening set as Regis quickly took control, continually expanding its advantage throughout the set. The Pride would close out the first set with a 10-2 scoring run, featuring three service aces from Kate Flemming (Woburn, Mass.).

The Pride scored the first nine points of the second set, led by Wax with four aces along with two kills apiece from Dow and Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.). Regis made just one attack error in the set to post a team hitting percentage of .444, as Dow scored two of the final four points of the set with kills.

Fitchburg State took the lead in the third set, eventually establishing a four-point advantage at 18-14. After a Regis timeout, the Pride rattled off an 11-1 scoring run to close out the set and the match, punctuated by three consecutive kills from Berning.

Leah Sheehan led the Falcons in the match with seven kills and two total blocks, while Amy Coelho paced the Fitchburg State defense with a match-high 11 digs.

Regis 3, Fitchburg State 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-6)

Dow led the way with nine kills and just one attack error in 10 attempts to hit .800, plus she collected four service aces and three total blocks. Whalen finished with seven kills in 10 attempts for a .700 hitting percentage, while Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) contributed seven kills and six digs. Harmony Lopez (Carlsbad, N.M.) picked up 13 assists in the third set alone, and Toni Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) added a team-high eight defensive digs.

After the Falcons closed to within one early in the first set on a service ace by Emily Gelinas, the Pride scored seven unanswered points to pull ahead, 12-4. Regis would finish the set by scoring four of the last five points, featuring two block assists by Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.) as well as a block assist and a kill from Tenorio.

Samantha Mirra picked up a kill and a service ace early in the second set to give Fitchburg State a 6-5 lead, but Regis responded with eight straight points, including all four of Dow's service aces in the match. The Falcons fought back, closing to within two four different times before the Pride took control, closing out the set on an 8-1 scoring run, featuring two blocks and two kills by Dow.

The Pride controlled the third set, with Dow connecting on all four of her attack attempts and Melendez adding two kills as the team hit .480 in the set. Regis completed the sweep with a 13-2 scoring run, capped by a block from Lopez and Pacheco.

Once again, Sheehan led the Falcon offense with five kills, while Coelho paced the defense with seven digs.

Regis College (5-3) hosts Lesley University Tuesday, Sept. 21, starting at 7 p.m. before hosting a GNAC tri-match with Anna Maria and Emmanuel next Saturday, Sept. 25, beginning at 9 a.m. Fitchburg State (1-7) hosts Bay Path Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. before traveling to Worcester State to take on the Lancers and SUNY Delhi next Saturday, Sept. 25, starting at 1 p.m.