WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Sophomore Morgan Weeg (Goodyear, Ariz.) and first year Jarene Harberts (Naples, Fla.) combined for 64 kills in seven sets to lead the Simmons College women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) victory over host University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and a 3-1 (25-19, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22) win over Suffolk University this afternoon at the O'Connell Center in West Hartford, Conn. The Sharks extend their win streak to 10 straight matches for the longest such streak in recent memory and improve to 19-9 overall, including a school-record 11-1 in league play, while St. Joseph is now 5-20 and 0-12, while Suffolk stands at 13-15 and 6-6.
Simmons secures the number two seed in the GNAC Championship Tournament and will waste no time in seeing Suffolk again, hosting the seventh-seeded Rams on Tuesday, October 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Quarterfinals at Moore Gymnasium. The seeding is the highest for the Sharks in school history and their win total is the highest since the team finished the 2012 campaign with a 19-14 mark.
The Sharks opened the day with a three-set win over St. Joseph, firing 14 aces, while hitting a formidable .312 for the match, including a blistering .531 on just two attack errors in the second set.
Harberts spiked for 17 kills and committed just four miscues, while hitting .419 and added three aces to go with four digs for Simmons, while Weeg swung for 14 kills on a .360 hitting mark in addition to 12 digs, two aces and a block assist. Senior right side hitter Amber Peterson (Las Vegas, Nev.) put down seven kills and hit .500 for the match, while serving up a pair of aces and picking up a dig. First year setter Faith Gray-Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.) set for 22 assists, assisted on a block and put down a kill.
Hannah Lemek led USJ with seven kills and a .400 hitting clip to go with four digs, three block assists and an ace, while Brenna Miller set for 16 assists and Jasmine Buckley picked up 11 digs to go with five kills.
The Sharks limited Suffolk to just a .093 hitting percentage, but committed 23 service errors in the match.
Weeg recorded her sixth double-double of the year with 20 kills and 11 digs to go with an ace and a block solo and Harberts put down 13 kills in addition to scooping up 10 digs for her sixth double-double as well. She added four aces and a block assist to her effort vs. Suffolk. Peterson chipped in with six kills on a .417 hitting clip to go with four digs and two aces. Gray-Williams and sophomore Kenna McCarthy (Shelter Island, N.Y.) combined for 39 assists with McCarthy picking up seven digs and firing two aces. First year defensive specialist Morgan Lauvray (Murrieta, Calif.) got down for 14 digs and up for a block assist.
Bridget Allison led the Rams with 12 kills on a .320 hitting percentage, while firing three aces and picking up a trio of digs. Talia Lombardo contributed with six kills, 13 digs and two total blocks, while Rachel Fancy set for a match-high 26 assists to go with an ace and a dig.