Women’s Volleyball Splits Tri-Match at Trinity College

HARTFORD, Conn.– After losing in four sets to host Trinity College, Regis College battled Montclair State in a five-set thriller, eventually prevailing for a 3-2 victory to split its matches Saturday afternoon during a non-conference women's collegiate volleyball tri-match at Oosting Gymnasium.

REGIS 3, MONTCLAIR STATE 2 (25-13, 20-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-7)

Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) led the Pride with 12 kills, a .346 hitting percentage, and seven total blocks, plus she earned six digs, while Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) notched a double-double with 11 kills and a team-high 16 digs. Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) also posted a double-double with 11 kills and 14 digs, Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) dished out 40 assists to pass the 1,000-assist mark in her career, and Emily Hart (Meriden, Conn.) contributed five service aces and 12 digs.

Two of Hart's service aces came early in the opening set as Regis opened a 5-1 lead before Montclair State closed to within two points at 10-8. The Pride put together a 7-1 scoring run, capped by three straight blocks all involving Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.), and then Regis closed out the first set with an 8-2 scoring run, led by three kills from Mola.

After Montclair State won the second set, the Red Hawks took an 18-15 lead in the third set thanks to three straight kills by Zoey Horn. The Pride responded with three unanswered points, capped by another ace from Hart, but Montclair State eventually pull ahead, 21-19, on a kill by Skye Ramsey. Regis closed out the third set with a 6-2 scoring run, including consecutive kills by Tenorio and punctuated by a kill from Fabiano.

An 8-2 scoring run helped the Red Hawks win the fourth set, but the Pride quickly regained momentum at the start of the fifth set, taking an early 6-3 lead. After kills by Rachel Curran and Horn brought Montclair State within one point, Regis ended the match with a 9-2 scoring run, led by Tenorio with three kills and Dow with two blocks, one kill, and one service ace.

Montclair State (8-6) was led by Curran with 20 kills along with 16 digs, while Horn collected 10 kills, two service aces, and four total blocks. Emily Carcich dished out 50 assists and also earned 16 digs, as did Emma Hatcher, while Katie Rodman led all played with 18 defensive digs.

TRINITY 3, REGIS 1 (25-15, 25-22, 23-25, 25-20)

In Regis' first match of the day, Dow paced the team with 12 kills, a .290 hitting percentage, and six total blocks, while Tenorio finished with 10 kills and 18 digs. Mckinney nearly notched a double-double with 31 assists and nine digs along with three service aces, Mola contributed nine kills and 11 digs, and Hart led the Pride backline with 19 digs.

Trinity (5-4) scored the first four points of the match and never lost the lead in the opening set, going on a 10-3 scoring run to close out the first set. After falling behind 23-15 in the second set, Regis battled back with a 7-1 scoring run, including consecutive blocks by the tandem of Fabiano and Dow, but a kill by Ava Boloyan clinched the second set for the Bantams.

The third set started with four straight points from Trinity, followed by six unanswered points by Regis and five straight points for the Bantams. Down 11-8 after a service ace by Boloyan, Regis rattled off an 11-3 scoring run, including consecutive service aces by Mckinney and two kills from Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.).

The Bantams answered with a 7-2 scoring run, capped by a service ace from Julia Torre, to tie the set at 21-21. The Pride pulled out the third set and extended the match thanks to a block assist and a service ace from Dow as well as two kills by Montigny.

Trinity jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fourth set, but Regis again battled back, eventually going ahead 18-16 on kills by Tenorio and Fabiano as well as a service ace from Mckinney. The Bantams settled down and put together a 9-2 scoring run to close out the set and the match, capped by a service ace from Caroline Howell.

Five different Bantam players finished with at least six kills, led by Eva Lekovic with 10 kills and Lola Craig with eight kills along with 10 digs. Howell notched a double-double with 18 assists and 10 digs, and Scarlett Jago led the home team with 19 defensive digs.

Regis College (8-5) starts its conference schedule at home with a match against Saint Joseph's College Tuesday, Sept. 26, beginning at 7 p.m.