Women’s Volleyball Picks Up Key Wins Over Simmons, Mitchell

BOSTON – In a hard-fought match between two of the top teams in the league, Regis College prevailed over Simmons University, 3-2, and then swept Mitchell College, 3-0, Saturday during a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball tri-match hosted by the Sharks at Holmes Sports Center.

REGIS 3, SIMMONS 2 (17-25, 25-23, 28-26, 22-25, 15-13)

Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) notched her eighth double-double of the season as she led the Pride with 15 kills and 13 digs along with three service aces. Kate Montigny (Shewsbury, Mass.) finished with 11 kills as Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) dished out 36 assists to go along with three kills, two service aces, and eight digs. Defensively, Bella Karpicz (Berkley, Mass.) accumulated 10 block assists, Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) earned nine total blocks to go along with eight kills, and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) contributed 13 digs along with nine kills and two service aces.

After dropping the first set, Regis fell behind in the second set, 8-4, thanks in part to consecutive service aces by Meghan Doxsee. The Pride battled back with an 8-3 scoring run to pull ahead, 12-11, before a kill by April Beatty tied the set at 12-12.

The Pride scored five straight points, the first two on consecutive blocks by Karpicz and Fabiano, and then two kills by Tenorio allowed the Pride to extend their lead to 22-16. Simmons put together a 7-1 scoring run to tie the set at 23-23, but Regis would close out the second set on kills by Montigny and Mola.

Three kills by Mola allowed the Pride to score the first four points of the third set, but the Sharks would come back and eventually take a 14-12 lead thanks to a service ace by Zoe Chatterton. After an 8-3 scoring run by Regis, Simmons went on a 7-3 scoring run, capped by kills from Chatterton and Hannah Pridgeon, to create a chance to win the set.

Each team scored two straight points to bring about a second Simmons set point at 26-25. However, the Pride would grasp the momentum on a kill by Mola and consecutive service aces by Kate Julian (Mendon, Mass.) to clinch the third set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Simmons (7-11, 5-2 GNAC) closed out the fourth set with a 6-2 run, capped by a solo block from Beatty, to send the match to a deciding fifth set. The Sharks won six of the first seven points before the Pride responded with six unanswered points, led by a kill and two service aces from Mola as well as two kills from Fabiano.

After a kill by Pridgeon gave Simmons a 12-10 advantage, Regis closed out the set and the match with a 5-1 scoring run, led by Julian with two more service aces and Mola with a kill.

Pridgeon led the Sharks with 21 kills and a .370 hitting percentage, plus she collected nine digs, while Chatterton finished with 12 kills, four service aces, five digs, and three block assists. Beatty came close to a triple-double as she ended up with 19 assists, a match-high 18 digs, and nine kills.

REGIS 3, MITCHELL 0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-13)

Tenorio led the Pride with 10 kills and eight digs, while Montigny earned seven kills and was part of all five Regis blocks. Fabiano and Karpicz finished with six kills apiece as the setting duties were split mainly between Rivera with 17 assists and Allie Bietz (Branford, Conn.) with 13 assists. Mola led Regis with five service aces, followed by Julian with three aces, and Isabella Seccareccio (Medford, Mass.) contributed seven defensive digs.

Led by consecutive service aces by Mola as well as a kill and a service ace from Karpicz, Regis opened the match with a 7-2 lead, but Mitchell closed to within two points thanks in part to two kills by Genna Hyde. The Pride held off the Mariners and eventually pulled away with the set on a 6-2 scoring run, including kills by Montigny, Karpicz, and Fabiano.

Mola picked up two more aces as Regis scored the first four points of the second set and kept increasing its lead throughout the set. Once again, a 6-2 scoring run clinched the set for the Pride, featuring two kills by Mola as well as a kill and a block assist each from Montigny and Fabiano.

Led by two kills from Hyde and a service ace by Brooke Taylor, Mitchell took a 5-3 lead in the third set, but Regis quickly grabbed the momentum with a 9-2 scoring run, led by two aces from Julian and two kills by Jayda DeCarlo (Westminster, Mass.). The Pride would score the final five points of the set and match, capped by Julian with a kill and a service ace.

Mitchell (6-12, 2-5 GNAC) was led by Allison Blum with eight kills and seven digs, while Hyde and Molly Wordell finished with five kills apiece. However, the Mariners could not prevent the Pride from hitting a season-high .385 in the match as well as collecting 14 service aces during the contest.

Regis College (16-6, 8-2 GNAC) plays a home match for the first time in three-and-a-half weeks, hosting Emmanuel College Tuesday, Oct. 22, starting at 6 p.m.