Pride Volleyball Sweeps Blue Jays in GNAC Contest

WESTON, Mass. - Thanks to contributions from several players, Regis College defeated University of Saint Joseph, 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-18), Tuesday night in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball match at Higgins Court.

Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) collected a season-high 14 kills, hitting .480 in the match, to go along with three service aces and three block assists. Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) posted a .625 hitting percentage as she finished with 11 kills, and Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) notched another double-double with 23 assists and 11 digs. Kaitlyn Miller (Nottingham, N.H.) contributed 12 assists, three service aces, and five digs, and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) paced the Pride defense with 13 digs to go along with five kills.

In the first set, USJ took a 5-4 lead before Regis put together a 7-1 scoring run, led by a kill and two aces from Dow. The Blue Jays answered with their own 7-2 scoring run, capped by a block from Rachel Heaney and Victoria Adler, to tie the set at 13-13.

The momentum continued to switch sides, with the Blue Jays reaching set point at 24-23 on a kill and an ace from Adler. The Pride extended the set on a kill by Dow and an ace from Miller, and then the home team clinched the opening set on another Dow kill and a service ace from Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.).

The Pride raced out to an 8-1 lead in the second set and eventually established a 12-4 advantage on a kill by Dow. The Blue Jays responded with a 9-3 scoring run, led by three kills from Shannon Carey, to close to within two points at 15-13.

Hannah Benson earned consecutive service aces to bring USJ within one point at 19-18, but the Pride held off the Blue Jays thanks to a kill by Tenorio and back-to-back USJ attack errors. Regis would close out the second set with a kill by Mckinney and two kills from Montigny.

Regis opened a 5-1 lead in the third set, capped by a service ace from Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.), but the Blue Jays fought back, closing to within two points thanks in part to two kills by Sarah Haire. The Pride pulled away with an 8-1 scoring run, led by three kills from Olivia Pacheco (Waterford, Conn.), and later used three kills by Dow and a service ace from Sofia Colon (San Juan, Puerto Rico) to bring about match point. Natalia Rabassa collected three service aces to extend the set, but Montigny finally closed out the match with a kill.

Carey led the Blue Jays on offense with 10 kills, with Benson finishing with six kills and 12 digs. Rabassa paced USJ with five service aces and 14 defensive digs, but the Pride used a significant advantage in kills (43-31) to earn the victory.

Regis College (18-11, 8-3 GNAC) hosts Fisher College Thursday night, Oct. 27, starting at 6 p.m., with the Senior Night presentation scheduled to take place before the match. USJ (4-20, 1-10 GNAC) heads to Fitchburg State for a non-conference match Thursday night at 6 p.m. before hosting Albertus Magnus and Simmons Saturday, Oct. 29, in a GNAC tri-match.