BOSTON – For the first time in program history, Simmons volleyball (21-7, 15-0 GNAC) posted a perfect conference mark following back-to-back sweeps of Johnson & Wales University (15-12, 12-3 GNAC) and the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) (7-20, 6-9 GNAC) on Saturday afternoon.
MATCH 1: Simmons 3, Johnson & Wales 0
After edging out the Wildcats 25-20 in the first set, the Sharks never looked back and cruised to the sweep with identical 25-17 scores in sets two and three. Senior outside hitter Claire Conners was outstanding on the floor hitting a staggering .435 with 12 kills on 23 attempts and just two miscues.
Defensively sophomore Kate Petrosso tied her career single-game high with four total blocks, tallying three block assists and one solo, while graduate senior Chelsea Simmons paced the offense with 22 assists. Additionally, Simmons notched her 12 double-double of the season tallying 10 digs.
MATCH 2: Simmons 3, University of St. Joseph (Conn.) 0
In their second match of the day, senior outside hitter Jayla Parnell was nearly flawless from the floor, notching 10 kills on 17 attempts with just one error in a 3-0 sweep of the Blue Jays. With senior Kat Simeonidis and Chelsea Simmons pacing the offense, the Sharks hit an outstanding .337 as a team.
For the second straight match, Petrosso was a force at the net, tying Chelsea Simmons for the team lead with four block assists. Fellow middle blocker, junior Meghan Doxsee continued to be solid at the net defensively following up with three block assists.
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Senior outside hitter Claire Conners led the offense, posting a .341 attack percentage with 20 kills on 44 attempts and just five errors.
- Senior outside hitter Jayla Parnell hit .390 with 19 kills on 41 attempts and just three errors.
- Graduate senior Chelsea Simmons rounded out the trio in double figure kills with 12 kills on the day and tallied her 12th double-double of the season with 22 assists and 10 digs against Johnson & Wales.
UP NEXT
Simmons will await the winner of Monday evening's GNAC Play-In game between the eighth and ninth seed to see who they will host on Tuesday, November 7 at 7 p.m.