BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) spiked for 16 kills on a .357 hitting percentage to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) victory over visiting Colby-Sawyer College this evening at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 6-6 on the season, while the Chargers fall to 3-10.
The Sharks fired 14 aces during the three-set match, including five from first year Faith Gray-Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) and four from senior right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.). Weeg added a dig and a pair of blocks to her night, while Gray-Williams picked up four digs and set for 12 assists. First year hitter Jarene Harberts (Naples, Fla.) led all players with 12 digs and also swung for seven kills to go with a pair of aces for Simmons. Sophomore setter Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) recorded a match-high 15 assists in addition to an ace and a dig.
Junior outside hitter Courtney Murray (Quincy, Mass.) led Colby-Sawyer with six kills on a .278 hitting mark and added six digs and three block assists, while sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Straubel (Altamont, N.Y.) put down five kills, got down for nine digs and assisted on a block. Sophomore setter Olivia Goodrich (Epping, N.H.) directed the offense for the visitors with 13 assists, fired a trio of aces, got up for three block assists and picked up three digs.
The Sharks scored the first six points of the opening set, including four aces from Peterson as part of an 11-2 run to begin the match. The Chargers ripped off seven straight points, including three aces from Goodrich to pull to within 11-9. Colby-Sawyer later stayed within two points at 14-12, before Simmons scored six unanswered points, paced by Harberts with a pair of aces and a kill. The Sharks owned set point at 24-16, but the Chargers continued to fight with a run of five points to make it 24-21, before an attack error gave the home team the first set.
The teams played within two points of each other for the first 36 points of the second frame. Colby-Sawyer held a 17-16 edge, but Simmons closed out the set on a 9-1 burst to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Chargers scored four of the first five points to open the third set, including a kill from Straubel that gave them a 4-1 lead. The Sharks responded with seven unanswered points, fueled by three kills from Weeg to take an 8-4 margin. Simmons later took its largest lead of the set at 20-11, before the Chargers closed to within 21-17, following a 6-1 run. The Sharks regrouped and tallied four of the final five points to secure the victory.
Simmons returns to the court on Saturday, September 23 when it travels to Weston, Mass. to open the Great Northeast Athletic Conference slate with Albertus Magnus College at 2:00 p.m. and host Regis College at 4:00 p.m. Colby-Sawyer plays again on the same day, hosting Husson University and Amherst College in a tri-match beginning at 11:00 a.m.