Women’s Volleyball Sweeps GNAC Tri-Match

PAXTON, Mass. - Regis College extended its winning streak to six matches with 3-0 victories over Anna Maria College and New England College Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tri-match hosted by the AMCATs at the Fuller Activities Center.

REGIS 3, ANNA MARIA 0 (25-10, 26-24, 25-18)

Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) led the Pride with 10 kills on 20 attack attempts without an error for a .500 hitting percentage, plus she collected 12 digs. Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) finished with seven kills and two solo blocks, Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) notched four service aces, and Allie Bietz (Branford, Conn.) earned 13 assists and five digs.

Anna Maria (3-17, 0-8 GNAC) won the first point of the match on a kill by Jana Hunt, but Regis quickly took control with an 8-1 scoring run, capped by consecutive service aces from Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.). The Pride put together a 13-4 scoring run to close out the opening set, punctuated by a service ace from Toni Ondris (Mineola, N.Y.) and a kill by Dow.

The second set went back and forth, starting with the AMCATs taking a 4-1 lead and followed by a 6-1 scoring run by the Pride. Anna Maria regained the lead at 15-12 before Regis went on a 7-3 scoring run to pull ahead, 20-19. The home team went back on top at 21-20 on a service ace by Ashley Sheehan, but Regis grabbed the momentum, winning the second set on kills by Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) and Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.).

Regis raced out to a 5-2 lead in the third set and then went on a 9-3 scoring run, including consecutive service aces from Dow, to extend the advantage to 14-7. After the AMCATs closed to within six points on a kill by Sheehan, Regis rattled off five unanswered points, featuring two service aces by Emily Hart (Meriden, Conn.) After a kill by Dow brought about match point, Anna Maria extended the match with four straight points, but then made a service error to close out the contest.

Hunt led the AMCATs with seven kills, plus she earned seven digs, while Julia Tarantino dished out 14 assists to go along with two service aces. Defensively, Serena Dennis and Suzette Scheer led the backline with eight digs apiece.

REGIS 3, NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE 0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19)

Fabiano led the Pride with 10 kills and three total blocks, while Mola finished with eight kills and a team-high 15 digs. Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) ended up with 12 assists, six kills, and seven digs, Bietz distributed 14 assists, and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) helped the defensive effort with 14 digs to go along with six kills and two service aces.

Thanks in part to two blocks by Fabiano and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Regis opened a 6-2 lead in the first set, but New England College closed to within two points several times, including at 11-9. Regis responded with kills by Montigny, Tenorio, and Mola as the Pride eventually extended their advantage to 21-14. After four straight points by the Pilgrims, Regis won four of the final six points of the opening set, capped by a kill from Fabiano.

Regis again took the early lead in the second set, eventually pulling ahead 12-5 on consecutive kills by Mckinney. After four straight points by the Pride put them ahead 18-9, the Pilgrims rallied back with a 13-5 scoring run, led by three kills from Torrance Robertson, to close to within one point at 23-22. Once again, the Pride would hold off the Pilgrims and clinch the second set on a Fabiano kill.

New England College (8-11, 3-6 GNAC) opened a 9-5 lead in the third set before Regis battled back with a 10-2 scoring run, featuring three straight kills from Fabiano as well as two kills and a service ace from Tenorio. A block by Robertson allowed the Pilgrims to create the first of three ties at 15-15 with a kills by Lily-Anne Heywood knotting the set at 17-17. The Pride closed out the set and the match with an 8-2 scoring run, capped by a kill from Mckinney.

Heywood notched a double-double with a team-high 10 kills along with 10 digs, while Robertson finished with nine kills. Defensively, Krissy Cardello paced the Pilgrim backline with 16 digs.

Regis College (15-6, 6-1 GNAC) heads into Boston to face Emmanuel College Tuesday, Oct. 17, beginning at 7 p.m.