Wellesley College 3, Simmons 1:
The Sharks battled the Wellesley College Blue to four games, falling 3-1 (29-27, 25-11, 22-25, 27-25) in the opening game of the MIT Women's Volleyball Invitational hosted at the Holmes Sports Center at Simmons College Friday afternoon. The Sharks took an early lead in the first set with a 10-5 lead before the Blue tied the game at 14. Junior Nafeesa Connolly (Natick, Mass.) served up an ace as the Sharks regained the lead but the Blue continued to keep the score within one.
The Blue took at 23-22 lead off a service ace but followed up followed with an error to again even the score. With the game point on the line, Wellesley's Courtney Lang buried a kill past the Sharks defense to tie the score at 27. After a blocking error by the Sharks, the Blue put the game away, 29-27.
In the second, the Sharks again took an early lead 7-4 but the Wellesley offensive dominated with big kills by Megan Mills and Sydney Carfagno to win 25-11. Simmons rebounded in the third as Caroline Boyd (Wilbraham, Mass.) posted eight kills and four block assists, while Kelly Last (West Haven, Conn.) added 14 digs to keep the Sharks in the hunt. Simmons freshman Raeann Nesta (Niantic, Conn.) beat the backrow with a kill to keep the Sharks alive, 25-22 off a perfect set by Rachel Dufault (Wesport, Mass.).
The final game saw nine lead changes and big kills by Wellesley's Carfagno and Isabel Custodio, while the Sharks came up with huge blocks by Nesta and Last. Tied at 24, the Sharks were unable to hold on as Wellesley edged Simmons, 3-1.
Colby College 3, Simmons 0:
In a rematch of their five-game match just two weeks ago, the Mules came out on top again, defeating the Sharks 3-0 (25-21, 27-25, 30-28) in the final match of the evening. The Sharks fell behind in the first set and were unable to recover as Colby cruised to a 25-21 win.
The Sharks took an early lead in the second, up 7-4 before the Mules tied it at 16. Nesta drilled a shot past Colby's defense to take the lead. Last increased the Sharks lead to three after a long rally with a huge kill. But Colby tied the score at 24 off a blocking error by the Sharks and took a 2-0 lead, 27-25.
The third set was an epic showdown, with neither team giving up more than a one-point lead. Nesta, who hit .348 for the match with 20 kills, led the Sharks offense while Chanel Thomas (Phoenix, AZ) and Last came up big on defense with 16 and 18 digs, respectively.
Both teams return to action tomorrow at Endicott College for the final day of the MIT Invitational. The Sharks face the Gulls at 12:00 p.m. on Court 1 and Smith College on Court 2 at 4:00 p.m.