BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons College women's volleyball team fell to the visiting Regis College, 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-14), in the opening contest of a tri-match today at Moore Gymnasium on the campus of Simmons. The Sharks later lost to Framingham State University, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-17). Framingham defeated Regis in the middle match, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-23). Simmons falls to 0-9 on the season, while the Rams improve to 10-2 with a pair of wins and the Pride come away with a 10-7 mark.
Regis took a 2-0 set lead over the Sharks by a combined set score of five points, before cruising to the match win in the final frame. Junior outside hitter Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) led Simmons with four blocks and seven kills to go along with a hitting percentage of .462. Sophomore setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) registered 21 assists to go with eight digs and five kills, while sophomore libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.) finished with a match-high 20 digs. The Pride's offense consisted of a solid all-around team effort. Six players recorded five or more kills, while the defense tallied a total of 18 blocks. First year middle blocker Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) spiked for a team-high seven kills on a .375 hitting percentage to go with nine digs and four block assists for Regis. Senior outside hitter Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) also swatted seven kills and hit .333 in addition to scooping up six digs. Sophomore right side hitter Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) led all defensive players with seven total blocks and added eight digs and five kills. First year setter Haley Schulte (Fullerton, Calif.) set for 25 assists, fired four aces and picked up six digs for the visitors.
Framingham held the Sharks' offense in check in the final match of the day, limiting them to a .047 hitting percentage. First year setter Morgan Westine (Ansonia, Conn.) led all players with a career-high 16 assists to go along with two digs and an ace for Simmons. First year outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) was solid with six kills and four digs, while Itasaka finished with a match-high 14 digs. First year outside hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) contributed with four kills and match-best four total blocks. Rams' sophomore outside hitter Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.) keyed the second set for Framingham State with her service game during an 11-0 run. She finished with a pair of aces on the day. The Rams were also led by both junior outside hitter Danielle Girard (Tivoli, N.Y.) who finished with 11 digs, eight kills on a .429 hitting percentage and a block and sophomore middle blocker Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.), who registered nine kills and three digs to go with a pair of aces.
The Rams had three players finish with nine kills in today's second match, including Wan, who also racked up 15 digs and five aces as they defeated the Pride 3-0. Sophomore hitter Alex Coppola (Dracut, Mass.) put down nine kills and added five blocks as well for Framingham. Connolly led Regis again with nine kills and a pair of aces in addition to four digs.
The Sharks will be back at it on Tuesday, September 23 as they visit Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. at 7:00 p.m. Framingham State University will host Salve Regina University on the same night at 7:00 p.m. and Regis returns to action on September 22 with a road trip to Newton, Mass. for a 6:00 p.m. match with Mount Ida College.