BOSTON, Mass. – Junior setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield, Ariz.) posted her third double-double of the season to lead the Simmons College volleyball team in a 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 25-12) loss to visiting Johnson & Wales University women's volleyball team this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks fall to 4-8 overall and 1-1 in league play, while Wildcats win their third straight match to improve to 8-4 and 2-0.
Johnson & Wales won the first two sets, before Simmons got one back in the third frame, but the Wildcats closed out the match with a convincing set four win.
Duke registered a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs to go with three aces and a block solo. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) led the Sharks with 13 kills and four aces in addition to three digs, while junior outside hitter Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) spiked for 10 kills and picked up nine digs. Junior libero Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) led all players with 17 digs.
Tensen added four kills, nine digs and three block assists to her night, while Kapustin hit .345 for the match and picked up six digs for the Wildcats. Senior outside hitter Paula Cadavid (Pawtucket, R.I.) contributed with eight kills and 15 digs, while first year middle hitter Emily Kalmink (Byron Center, Mich.) smashed six kills on a .333 hitting mark to go with six total blocks, three digs and an ace.
The teams played within two points of each other through the first 32 points of the opening set before Johnson & Wales opened up a 19-15 lead following five straight points, paced by a kill and an ace from Tensen. The Sharks scored four of the next five points to pull to within 20-19, but the visitors closed out the frame on a 5-2 run for the 25-21 set victory.
Simmons trailed 7-6 before going on a dominant 10-1 stretch, fueled by a pair of aces from Woodward and classmate Susan Wilson (Winchester, Mass.) in addition to two kills from Fredrickson, to take a 16-8 lead. The Sharks looked to have the set in control, but the Wildcats wiped out the deficit by ripping off 10 unanswered points on first year defensive specialist Monica Cordova's (Jersey City, N.J.) service. Tensen and Cadavid each put down a pair of kills during the run. Fredrickson and Duke pulled Simmons even with a kill and an ace, respectively, for the first of six ties before the end of the set. The teams were deadlocked at 23-all, but Johnson & Wales scored the final two points, including a kill from Kalmink to put the set away for the visitors at 25-23.
The Sharks won set three to cut the match deficit to 2-1. Once again, the teams played within two points through the first 32 points in a set that featured eight lead changes and 13 tie scores. Tensen fired an ace to give the Wildcats an 18-15 margin, but Simmons reeled off four straight points, including a pair of aces from sophomore right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) to give the Sharks a 19-18 edge. Johnson & Wales scored the next point to pull even, but it was as close as it would get for the match as Simmons closed out the frame with a 6-1 burst, led by a pair of kills from senior right side hitter Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) and a kill and an ace from Woodward to take the set, 25-20.
The Wildcats left no doubt in the fourth and final set with a 25-12 win. Johnson & Wales never trailed in the set and held a 15-10 lead before scoring eight points in a row on Tensen's serve. Tensen contributed with two aces and junior right side hitter Jocelyn Worthington (Manchester, Conn.) spiked for two kills during the stretch to give the Wildcats a 23-10 advantage.
The Sharks will be in action again tomorrow when they host GNAC rival Suffolk University at Moore Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m., while Johnson & Wales hosts University of Southern Maine on October 2 at 4:00 p.m.