BOSTON, Mass. – Junior middle hitter Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) spiked for a career-high 15 kills and hit a torrid .789 for the match to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team over visiting Suffolk University, 3-1 (25-17, 25-7, 19-25, 25-13), this evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 5-8 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Rams fall to 4-10 and 1-4.
Simmons hit a season-high .244 for the match and fired 21 aces en-route to the victory.
Hart did not commit an attack error for the night and recorded a kill on 15 of 19 swings, while adding two aces and a pair of block solos for the Sharks. Sophomore right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) served up a career-high eight aces in addition to five kills and a dig, while junior setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) registered 30 assists to go with two aces, a pair of digs and a block solo. Junior outside hitter Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) chipped in with six kills, six aces and seven digs.
First year middle hitter Bridget Allison (Westford, Mass.) led the Suffolk offense with six kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while adding seven digs, two block assists and an ace. First year outside hitter Talia Lombardo (Windham, N.H.) tallied seven points on three kills and four aces in addition to seven digs.
Simmons hit .241 for the opening set and owned a 17-14 lead, before scoring eight of the final 11 points to close out the set for the win. Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) put down two kills during the stretch for the home team.
The Sharks dominated the second frame with a .571 hitting mark to fuel a 25-7 set win. Fredrickson (five) and Peterson (three) combined for eight aces during the set, while Hart was a perfect 3-3 with her offensive attacks.
The Rams rebounded to win the third set, while hitting .238 for the frame to cut the match deficit to 2-1. The teams played within two points of each other through the first 32 points and were tied at 18-18, before Suffolk closed out the set with a 7-1 run, fueled by three aces from Lombardo, to give Suffolk a 25-19 set win.
The Rams took a 7-4 lead in the fourth set, before Simmons reeled off six unanswered points, including two aces from Peterson, to take a 10-7 lead. Bridget put down a kill for Suffolk to close to within 10-8, but the Sharks went on a 12-2 run to take a 22-10 advantage. The burst was paced by three kills apiece from Fredrickson and Hart and a pair of aces from sophomore defensive specialist Susan Wilson (Winchester, Mass.). Woodward later put away a kill to give Simmons the set at 25-13.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, October 3 when it hosts Rivier University and Lasell College in a GNAC tri-match, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at Moore Gymnasium, while the Rams head to Emerson College on the same day for a tri-match with the Lions and Curry College at 1:00 p.m.
