BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) spiked for a match-high 14 kills on a .429 hitting percentage to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19) victory over visiting Saint Joseph's College (Maine) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match this evening at Moore Gymnasium in Boston, Mass. The Sharks improve to 10-9 overall and 4-1 in league play, while the Monks fall to 10-8 and 3-2.
Simmons fired a season-high 16 aces, while hitting .309 for the night. Saint Joseph's also enjoyed a quality hitting effort with a .243 hitting mark, while committing just seven attack errors.
Weeg committed just two hitting errors on the night and also added four digs, five assists and an ace, while first year hitter Jarene Harberts (Naples, Fla.) posted a double-double of 10 kills and 11 digs to go with an ace. Senior right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) hit a torrid .800 with eight kills in 10 attempts and ripped off four aces in addition to picking up four digs and assisting on a block. First year Faith Gray-Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) set for 17 assists, fired a match-high six aces and scooped up three digs and sophomore setter Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) registered 18 assists, a kill and a dig.
Senior middle blocker Jordynne Copp (Cumberland, Maine) swung for eight kills and hit .368 to go with a pair of kills for the Monks, while sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Bickford (Somersworth, N.H.) put down five kills, and picked up two digs. Junior setter Sarah Dyer (Seabrook, N.H.) set for 18 assists in addition to seven digs and two total blocks and junior libero Jennelle Thompson (Farmington, N.H.) got down for 10 digs.
The Sharks scored the first six points of the opening set, including three kills from Weeg and two aces and a kill from Peterson. Simmons extended its lead to 11-3 following a Harberts kill, but the visitors scored four of the next six points to close to within 13-7, capped by a kill from first year middle blocker Erin Olson (Stoughton, Mass.). The Sharks countered with an 8-2 run, paced by two kills from Peterson and a pair of aces from Gray-Williams, to take a 21-9 advantage. The Monks scored five of the next seven, including three kills from Copp to pull them to within 23-14, but Simmons closed out the set, punctuated by an ace from first year libero Julia Fusco (Beverly, Mass.) to take the frame.
Saint Joseph's regrouped and took an early 7-4 margin in the second set, behind two kills from Bickford. The Sharks responded with a 6-1 run to take a 10-8 lead, but kills from Olson and first year outside hitter Sophia Randall (Epping, N.H.) knotted the set at 10-10. Simmons began to pull away for good with a 9-3 run, fueled by a trio of kills from Weeg, to take a 19-13 lead. The Monks stayed tough with an 8-4 burst, including two kills apiece from Bickford and Copp to close the deficit to 23-21. The Sharks held on for the set win with a kill from Harberts to seal the frame.
Peterson, Harberts and Weeg all put down a pair of kills and Weeg added an ace to lead Simmons to an 8-2 lead to begin the third set. Saint Joseph's closed to within a point at 10-9, thanks to a pair of aces from sophomore defensive specialist Bailey Gryskwicz and two kills from Randall. The Sharks opened up a 19-12 margin, following a 9-3 burst, led by two aces each from Peterson and Gray-Williams. Simmons later maintained a 22-15 lead when the Monks scored three of the next four points to climb to within 23-18, but the Sharks closed out the set and the match.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, October 7 when it heads to Northfield, Vt. to take on host Norwich University and Rivier University in GNAC tri-match action at 11:00 a.m., while Saint Joseph's hosts GNAC foe Emmanuel College and non-conference opponent Salve Regina University on the same day at 10:00 a.m.