NASHUA, N.H. - The Simmons College women's volleyball team was defeated by host Rivier University, 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22), this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Muldoon Gymnasium in Nashua, N.H. The Sharks three-match conference win streak comes to an end as they fall to 3-13 overall and 3-2 in league play, while the Raiders improve to 16-5 and 3-0.
Simmons jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening set, before Rivier roared back with a 17-5 stretch, paced by four kills from sophomore middle hitter Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.), to take a 21-13 lead. The Sharks scored four of the final six points, including a pair of kills from first year outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.), but it wasn't enough as the home team took a 25-19 decision.
The second frame saw the teams separated by no more than four points for the entire set. Simmons took the biggest margin of the frame at 13-9. The Sharks later maintained a 16-15 edge, but the Raiders scored three straight points to take an 18-16 and later held onto a 19-18 margin. Simmons regrouped and scored seven of the final 10 points, fueled by three kills from first year middle blocker Emmee Ashby (Payson, Ariz.), to take the set, 25-22.
The third set saw both teams battle back and forth through the first half of the frame until they were tied at 13-13. Rivier got some breathing room with five unanswered points, including a pair of kills from sophomore middle hitter Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.), to take an 18-13 lead. The Sharks could get not closer than three points the rest of the way as the Raiders won the set, 25-18.
Rivier opened up a 15-11 cushion in the fourth set, but five straight points gave Simmons a 16-15 edge. The teams traded points, including a kill from junior right side hitter Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) to keep the Sharks out front with a 17-16 lead. The Raiders took six of the next seven points, however, to take a 22-18 margin. Simmons later pulled to within 24-22, but Rivier took the final point for the set and the match.
The Sharks saw a pair of student-athletes reach double-digit kills as both Ashby and sophomore outside hitter Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) led the offense with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Ashby owned a .409 hitting percentage and got up for a pair of blocks. Fredrickson's attack rate was at .269 to go with a pair of digs and a block assist. Woodward contributed with seven kills, a service ace and four digs, while sophomore setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) dished out 34 helpers. Sophomore libero Alex Itasaka (Bradford, Mass.) registered a game-high 15 digs and three service aces.
Silverman led the way for the Raiders as she hammered down 16 kills with a .407 hitting percentage. Junior Jackie Pisecco (Chelmsford, Mass.) added a .417 hitting percentage and 13 kills while Mott chipped in with 12 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Junior Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) provided 45 assists and freshman Bethany Trevino (Westminster, Colo.) had the team high of 14 digs.
Simmons will be in action again on Saturday, October 11 when it travels to New Haven, Conn. to take on GNAC foe Albertus Magnus College at 3:00 p.m., while Rivier returns to GNAC action on the same day, traveling to Standish, Maine for a tri-match with Saint Joseph's College and Emmanuel College at 12:00 p.m.