WESTON, Mass. - The Simmons College women's volleyball team was defeated by host Regis College, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 12-25, 25-17), this evening in Weston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-3 on the season, while the Pride improve to 7-4.
Despite firing a season-high 20 aces, Simmons was unable to overcome a two-set to none deficit as Regis won the fourth frame after dropping the third set.
Junior middle hitter Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) scored 10.5 points to lead the Sharks, putting down four kills behind a .308 hitting percentage, while adding four aces, two block solos and an assisted rejection. Classmate Cailin Fredrickson's (Columbia, Md.) streak of double-digit kills came to an end at six straight matches, but she still led the squad with seven kills in addition to three aces and three digs. Junior libero Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) led the Simmons' defense with 11 digs and sophomore outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) contributed with a match-high five aces to go with four kills and seven digs. Junior setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) put up 16 assists, while serving up four aces and getting down for seven digs.
Sophomore outside hitter Graciella Molinari (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) led all players with eight kills and also registered eight digs for the Pride, while classmate Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) put away seven kills on a .412 hitting mark and picked up nine digs in addition to a pair of aces. Sophomore setter Crystina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) established the pace for the home team with 28 assists and also fired three aces, while scooping up a match-best 12 digs.
The Pride staked themselves to an early 9-5 lead using a pair of kills from Sydney Trusty (Durham, Conn.), a kill from Rachel Bartels (Edinburg, Texas), and a Connolly service ace. Out of a timeout,
Simmons got two quick kills from sophomore right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Hart to cut the deficit to 9-7, but the Pride would eventually take a 14-10 lead after a Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.) kill.
Four-straight points by the Sharks tied the game at 17-all following a Woodward kill, and the two teams would trade points until back-to-back errors by Simmons gave Regis a 20-18 lead. Connolly
extended the lead to 21-18 with a kill and forced another Simmons timeout. The Sharks slowly chipped away and trailed only 24-23 after a Duke service ace, but Trusty ended the game with a kill down the line to give Regis the 25-23 victory.
The second set started much the same as Regis jumped out to a 13-5 lead following a Shay Faber (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) ace, and the Pride eventually led by as many as 11 at 19-8 following a Lathrop ace. Again, Simmons would claw their way back into it, forcing a Regis timeout with the score 21-15 after a pair of Hart service aces and a Pride error. It was too little too late, however, as the Pride took advantage of three Simmons errors and a Mosher kill to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-17 win in game two.
With their backs against the wall, Simmons dominated the third game, using nine service aces in the set – including three apiece from Duke and Frederickson – to force a fourth game.
Simmons appeared to have all the momentum to start game four as they took a 4-0 lead after three-straight aces from Woodward. This time Regis clawed their way back into the contest, tying the match at 4-4 after a Faber kill, and eventually taking a 10-6 lead on a Faber ace. The Pride led 19-11 after a Molinari kill, and kept the Sharks at bay to hold on for a 25-17 win in the final game to take the match, 3-1.
The Sharks return to action on Saturday, September 19 for a tri-match in Waltham, Mass., taking on host Brandeis University at 10:00 a.m. and Roger Williams University at 12:00 p.m. Regis will also compete in a tri-match on the same day, taking on Wellesley College at 1:00 p.m., followed by host Rivier University at 3:00 p.m. in Nashua, N.H.