BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons College women's volleyball team split a pair of home matches in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match this afternoon, falling to Rivier University, 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-13, 27-25), before closing out the day with a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-8) victory over Lasell College at Moore Gymnasium on the Simmons campus in Boston, Mass. The Sharks are now 6-9 overall and 3-2 in league play. Rivier defeated Lasell in the middle match, 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-8, 25-19), to improve to 13-4 and a perfect 2-0 in GNAC action, while Lasell closed out the day at 5-15 and 1-2.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Woodward (Deerfield, Mass.) led the Simmons offense on the day, averaging 3.09 kills per set and added 1.55 digs per frame.
Rivier hit .287 for its match against Simmons, including a staggering .520 in the third frame. Junior middle hitter Dana Mott (Medway, Mass.) led the Raiders with 13 kills on a .333 hitting mark, while classmate Lauren Silverman (Chelmsford, Mass.) spiked for 12 kills behind a .348 hitting clip to go with seven total blocks, including three solos. Senior setter Emily O'Reilly (San Francisco, Calif.) directed the offense with 44 assists and added four digs. Senior defensive specialist Lyndsey Sweeney (Coventry, R.I.) chipped in with eight digs and five aces.
Woodward smashed a match-high 15 kills and picked up six digs for the Sharks. Junior libero Kat Guillotte (New Bedford, Mass.) led all players with 19 digs in addition to a service ace. Junior setter Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) registered 32 assists and scooped up four digs.
Simmons won the final match of the afternoon vs. Lasell with a .208 hitting percentage and hit no lower than .132 in any set. Junior outside hitter Cailin Fredrickson (Columbia, Md.) hit a robust .310 on the attack to fuel 12 kills and also picked up six digs for the Sharks. Woodward added nine more kills to her day to go with five digs and three aces. Guillotte proved to be a defensive stalwart in her second contest of the day with 17 digs and also fired an ace. Duke posted a 27-assist effort and added seven digs, two total blocks and an ace.
The Lasers received offensive contributions from sophomore right side hitter Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.) and sophomore outside hitter Meredith Eagan (North Andover, Mass.), with each swinging for five kills. Canstro hit .385, while Eagan served for an ace. Sophomore libero Caitlyn Garcia (Moreno Valley, Calif.) led the defense with 14 digs.
Rivier owned a formidable .323 hitting mark, making just 12 attack errors and hit over .450 in two different sets vs. Lasell. Silverman put away 13 kills and hit .391 to go with six total blocks to lead the Raiders. Senior outside hitter Jackie Pisecco (Chelmsford, Mass.) spiked for 11 kills, while making just one error for a .455 hitting clip and added three digs and three total blocks. Junior outside hitter Molly McCormack (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) helped out on both sides of the net, recording 10 digs and seven kills in addition to serving up a pair of aces. O'Reilly set for 32 assists in just three sets, got down for seven digs and came up with three block assists.
Eagan spiked for six kills and hit .188 to go with two aces and first year middle hitter Olivia Addington (Orange, Calif.) finished the match with six kills, three digs and an ace for Lasell. Sophomore setter Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) fell just one dig shy of a double-double with 25 assists and nine digs, while Garcia turned in an 11-dig effort.
Simmons returns to the court on Wednesday, October 7 when it travels to Northfield, Vt. to take on GNAC foe Norwich University for a 7:00 p.m. match. Rivier is in action on the same night, hosting Suffolk University at 7:00 p.m. and Lasell hosts Worcester State University on October 6 at 7:00 p.m.