BOSTON, Mass. -- Simmons volleyball opened their 2012 season at home with a 3-1 win over the WPI Engineers (25-18, 25-23, 19-25, 25-18) Tuesday evening at the Holmes Sports Center. The Sharks moved to an overall record of 2-2 with the win, while WPI drops to 2-2.

The Engineers took the lead early, up 14-10 in the first set with kills by Holly Ganser, Alyssa Fidanza and Jenny Wallace. Simmons battled back to regain the lead 21-18 with stellar offense by Kelly Last (West Haven, Conn.). Junior Megan Chamberlin (Milford, Mass.) served up two aces to secure the win, 25-18.

The Sharks picked up where they left off in the second set with kills by freshmen Brittany Hill (Milford, Mass.) and Raeann Nesta (Niantic, Conn.) but WPI fought back to take the lead 13-11. Senior Rachel Dufault (Westport, Mass.) and Last each added kills to even the score at 23. Chamberlin put the final kill away to put the Sharks up 2-0.

In the third set, the Engineers went on a seven-point streak with help from Bailey Sarber and Elyssa Dorenfield. The Sharks took a timeout down 21-15 but it was all WPI as Dorenfield stuffed Nesta at the net and Jocelyn Close closed out the win, 25-19.

Simmons went up 11-6 in the fourth set and maintained their lead as Hill added her sixth kill of the game. Nesta posted a huge solo block and followed it with her 11th kill. Junior Nafeesa Connolly (Natick, Mass.) solidified the win with a service ace to give the Sharks a 3-1 victory.

Simmons returns to the court on Thursday, September 6th against Babson College at 7:00 p.m., while WPI hosts Lesley University on the same date and time.