BOSTON, Mass. – First year outside hitter Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) posted a monster double-double of 20 kills and 22 digs to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-15) victory over visiting Saint Joseph's College (Maine) this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks win their second straight match and improve to 6-9 overall, including 3-2 in league play, while the Monks fall to 5-9 and 2-2.
Simmons owned a .211 hitting percentage, while recording nine team blocks and 10 aces.
Weeg hit a blistering .486 for the match to go with a pair of aces and three assisted blocks for the Sharks, while classmate Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) set for 36 assists in addition to five digs and two block assists. Senior middle blocker Abby Hart (Westfield, Mass.) also contributed with 10 kills on a .226 hitting mark and added six total blocks.
Junior middle blocker Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) led Saint Joseph's with eight kills fueled by a .250 hitting percentage in addition to four digs, an ace and a block, while senior outside hitter Victoria Huntley (Ellsworth, Maine) put down seven kills, picked up 14 digs and fired an ace. Senior outside hitter Shadai Gosselin (Somersworth, N.H.) also contributed with seven kills and 11 digs. Sophomore libero Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) got down for a team-high 18 digs as well.
The Monks jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the opening set, paced by two kills and an ace from Huntley. Simmons put together an 11-2 run, fueled by a pair of aces from first year defensive specialist Carly Wanner-Hyde (Newinton, Conn.), to take an 18-13 lead and maintained its lead for the first set victory.
Neither team led by more than two points through the first 27 points of the second frame as the Sharks owned a 14-13 edge. Following an 8-3 stretch, Simmons owned a 21-16 margin, but Saint Joseph's responded with a 6-2 run, including a pair of kills from Copp and Gosselin, to pull it to within 23-22. Simmons scored two of the final three points, including a kill from Weeg for the set winner.
The Sharks built a 12-5 lead in the final set, behind four kills and an ace from Weeg. The Monks shot back with a 6-2 burst, led by a pair of kills from Gosselin to close to within 14-11. Simmons ripped off 10 of the next 13 points, fueled by a pair of kills and an ace from Weeg, to take a 23-14 advantage as they pulled away for the win. Hart and McCarthy combined on a block to give the Sharks the final point of the set and the match.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, October 15 when it hosts Norwich University at Moore Gymnasium at 3:00 p.m., while the Monks host University of Southern Maine on October 13 at 6:00 p.m.