Ahnasia Mckinney, Alexandra Rivera Earn GNAC Weekly Awards

WINTHROP, Mass. - After opening the 2024 season with two home sweeps and two five-set matches, graduate student Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) has been named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player and Setter of the Week, while first-year player Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) received GNAC Rookie of the Week honors, as announced Tuesday, Sept. 3, by the league office.

Once again, Mckinney has embraced her role as a setter while in the back row and a right-side hitter while in the front row of the Pride rotation. She opened the season Friday against Fisher College with her sixth career collegiate triple-double, finishing with 13 kills, 15 assists, and 12 digs, plus she hit .346 in the match. Later Friday, she finished with 10 kills, a .571 hitting percentage, 17 assists, and six digs in Regis' sweep over Thomas College.

Saturday, Mckinney notched another double-double against Endicott, completing the match with 12 kills and 19 assists along with two service aces. She came close to a triple-double against host Brandeis, finishing that five-set contest with 24 assists, nine kills, and eight digs.

Mckinney became the sixth player in program history to reach 600 career kills as well as the second student-athlete in program history with over 1,500 career assists. Through the first weekend, she is second in the GNAC in total kills with 44.

Rivera has quickly emerged as the second setter for the Pride, coming into the match when Mckinney rotates to the front row. In two sets against Fisher College Friday, she collected 11 assists, nine digs, and four service aces, followed by 10 assists in two sets against Thomas College.

Saturday, Rivera appeared in all five sets in both contests, starting with 19 assists, eight digs, and three service aces against Endicott. In the ensuing match against host Brandeis, Rivera finished with 23 assists, four service aces, and six digs.

Regis College (2-2) starts a busy week with a home match against Worcester State later Tuesday starting at 7 p.m. The Pride will head to the Tri-State area for a match at Sarah Lawrence Friday, Sept. 6, and a tri-match at William Paterson Saturday, Sept. 7.