BEVERLY, Mass. - Junior outside hitter Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) spiked for a team-high 13 kills to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team in a 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-13) loss to host Endicott College this evening at MacDonald Gymnasium in Beverly, Mass. in the season opener for both teams. The Sharks fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Gulls improve to 1-0.
Fredrickson also added four digs, a service ace and a block assist for Simmons.
Endicott's attack was extremely efficient for the night, riding a .280 hitting percentage to victory.
Junior middle hitter Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) chipped in for the Sharks with 8.5 points on six kills, a pair of aces and an assisted block to go with a dig. She also hit a tidy .286 for the match. Junior Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) led all players with 12 digs for Simmons, while sophomore outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) got down for nine digs in addition to four kills, an ace and a block. Junior setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) directed the offense with a match-high 26 assists to go with a pair of kills, three digs and an ace for the Sharks.
Sophomore Lauren Sheehan (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) led the Endicott offense with a match-high 16 kills behind a torrid .542 hitting percentage to go with four digs, while senior right side hitter Lexi Watts (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) put away nine kills on a .438 hitting mark in addition a pair of digs and a block assist. Sophomore defensive specialist Cydney Pierce (Santa Barbara, Calif.) anchored the defense with 11 digs and chipped in with two aces, while graduate student setter Alleigh VandeMerkt (Riverside, Ill.) set for 21 assists, fired four aces and picked up five digs.
Simmons returns to action on Friday, September 4 when it competes in the Bear Invitational hosted by the United States Coast Guard Academy, taking on Eastern Connecticut State University at 6:00 p.m., while the Gulls play Keene State College in Waltham, Mass. at the Brandeis University Invitational on the same night at 5:00 p.m.
