BOSTON – The top seed Simmons volleyball (22-8) was upset by the fourth seed Lasell University (26-4) in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals on Thursday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1: Simmons 25, Lasell 22
The Lasers came out of the gate strong, taking a 14-11 lead midway through the first set, but the Sharks answered battle their way back to take a one-point lead late in the set. Trailing by one late in the set, senior outside hitter Jayla Parnell ignited a 5-1 run with a kill to help Simmons win the set, 25-22, and take a 1-0 match lead.
SET 2: Lasell 25, Simmons 16
Momentum appeared to stay on the side of the Sharks at the beginning of the second building a 12-9 lead at the midpoint of the set. But the winds shifted and Lasell responded with a 5-0 run to gain a two-point, 14-12 lead forcing the Sharks to call their first timeout. The Lasers kept the pressure on, increasing their lead to 18-13 and never looked back to even the match with the 25-16 win.
SET 3: Lasell 25, Simmons 13
The Lasers carried their momentum into the third set. Registering a total of 12 blocks as team – with five coming from Julian Medini – Lasell was able to pull out the third set, 25-13, and take a 2-1 match lead.
SET 4: Lasell 25, Simmons 23
Despite having their backs against the wall, the Sharks were not backing down. Trailing by six, 15-9, midway through the set, Simmons pulled to within three points of the lead following a kill by senior outside hitter Claire Conners and forced the Lasers to call their first time out.
Simmons continued to hang in the match. Down by two, first-year Hannah Pridgeon registered a pair of big kills to tie up the match and spark a 5-0 run to take a 22-18. It appeared as the momentum was shifting back over to the Sharks, but the Lasers were able to gain it back and rallied to take the final set, 25-23.
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Graduate senior Chelsea Simmons led the way with 14 kills, while picking up her 12th double-double of the season, pacing the offense with 18 assists.
- Senior outside hitter Claire Conners followed up with nine kills, while senior outside hitter Jayla Parnell notched eight.
- Junior middle blocker Meghan Doxsee led the way at the net, notching five of the Sharks 18 block assists.
- First-year outside hitter Hannah Pridgeon tallied eight kills while registering four block assists.