BOSTON, Mass. –Sophomore outside hitter Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) spiked a match-high 15 kills to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team to its seventh-straight win, sweeping visiting Anna Maria College 3-0, in straight sets, (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) at Moore Gymnasium, in Boston, Mass, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. The Sharks improve to 16-9 on the season and 9-1 in GNAC play, while the AMCATS fall to 4-19 overall and 1-9 in the GNAC.
Simmons hit a robust .242 on the day, while holding Anna Maria to a -.016 hitting percentage. On the service line, the Sharks fired 12 aces.
In addition to 15 kills and an efficient .333 hitting percentage, Weeg recorded six digs and three assists for the Sharks. Junior middle blocker Alexandra Erk Thompson (Canton, Mass.) matched a career-best with eight kills on the day, hitting a scorching .600, while adding two digs. First year outside hitter Riley Roberge (Peoria, Ariz.) registered an all-around performance, pitching in with six kills, five service aces, and three digs. The Sharks' tandem setters of Faith Gray-Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) combined for 33 assists with 18 and 15, respectively. Gray-Williams also added three kills, a dig and a block assist, while McCarthy fired a pair of aces and picked up five digs.
Senior outside hitter Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.) led Anna Maria with seven kills and a match-high 12 digs, while teammate Carolina Garcia (Springfield, Mass.) contributed with eight digs and a kill. Junior outside hitter Sarah Lathrop (Waterford, Conn.) added two kills, two block assists, and a service ace during the match and senior setter Kerri Earle (Bethel, Conn.) set for 12 assists and added six digs for the AMCATS.
The first set of the day was played evenly as the two teams held a score of 12-10 with Simmons holding the slight edge. The Sharks went on a 5-0 run to expand the gap, with four of those points coming off the serve of first year outside hitter Jarene Harberts (Naples, Fla.). Weeg also had two kills in the span, to make the score 17-10. Simmons was able to close out the set with first year libero Julia Fusco (Beverly, Mass.) serving up an ace.
Again, the Sharks and Anna Maria went back and forth early in the second set to with Simmons holding a 7-6 edge. The Sharks used an 8-2 run to gain a 16-8 advantage midway through the set. Simmons was powered by three service aces in that span with two coming off the service of Roberge. The AMCATS immediately responded with a 3-0 run of their own, helped by a kill from Lathrop. The Sharks ultimately pulled out the set, capped by a kill from Gray-Williams.
Anna Maria began the third set with an ace by Earle, before Simmons regained its footing and evened the set. Later in the set, the AMCATS built their biggest lead of the match at 9-6 powered by a kill from Foti and Garcia, before the Sharks responded with a 4-1 burst to even the score at 10-10. Roberge, Weeg and senior middle blocker Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) each had kills during the run. The score was again knotted at 15-all before Simmons scored 10 of the next 15 points to take the third set. Fusco served up two aces in the run and Peterson and Weeg had two kills each to close out the set.
The Sharks are back on their home court on Wednesday October 25 to take on Babson College at 7:00 p.m. in non-conference action in Boston, Mass., while Anna Maria travels to Worcester, Mass. to match up against Worcester State University in non-conference action on October 24 at 7:00 p.m.