Volleyball Drops 3-0 Decision to Regis at Bonnie May Invitational

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Regis College volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State University on Friday evening at the Bonnie May Invitational hosted by Smith College in Ainsworth Gymnasium. The Pride won the tightly-contested match by scores of 27-25, 25-23 and 25-17.

Ahnasia Mckinney (Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Pride with 11 kills, 12 assists, and four total blocks to go along with five digs. Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) recorded seven kills and Kate Montigny (Shrewsbury, Mass.) finished with six kills, a .455 hitting percentage, and four total blocks. Makenzie Price (Birmingham, Ala.) contributed a team-high eight digs, two assists, and three service aces, while Aryam Serrano-Monserrate (Lake Forest, Calif.) and Kamdyn Tenorio (Irvine, Calif.) also picked up three service aces apiece.

Graduate outside hitter Julia Cabral (Acushnet, Mass.) paced the Bears with five kills and a match-high 12 digs, while freshman middle hitter Rachel Sebastian-Asbed (St. Louis, Mo.) also finished with five kills. Senior setter Savannah Quintal (Assonet, Mass.) accumulated 12 assists, four service aces, and six digs.

Bridgewater State was held to a .081 hitting percentage while allowing Regis to post a .217 hitting percentage and collect 13 service aces as a team. The Bears finished with eight aces. The Pride registered ten service errors.

Bridgewater State scored the first two points of the match on consecutive service aces by Quintal, but Regis responded with a 6-2 scoring run, capped with a block by Montigny and Mckinney. The Bears came right back with their own 7-2 scoring stretch, including a service ace and a kill from junior setter Bethany Votta (Cumberland, R.I.), before the Pride put together a 10-3 scoring run later in the first set, led by three kills from Mckinney. The Bears rattled off five unanswered points, punctuated by a kill and a solo block from junior outside hitter Abigail Reardon (Fairhaven, Mass.), to serve for the set. However, the Pride extended the set thanks to a kill from Whalen and a service ace by Tenorio, and then Regis clinched the opening set with a kill by Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) and a block by Albers and Montigny that landed just inside the line on the Bears' side of the court.

Regis scored five straight points early in the second set, including two kills from Mckinney, to open a three-point advantage, but the Bears came back and eventually took the lead at 11-10 on a kill by freshman outside hjtter Kim Gowell (Durham, N.H.). The Pride regained control of the set thanks to an 8-3 scoring run, capped by two solo blocks from Mckinney. Bridgewater State again battled back by scoring six of the next eight points, with Reardon picking up a kill and a solo block. Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) notched a kill and a service ace as the Pride scored four unanswered points to create a set point opportunity, but the Bears scored three straight points to extend the second set before a kill by Whalen closed it out for Regis.

The Bears took an early 8-6 lead in the third set on a kill by senior right side hitter Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) and a service ace from Votta, but the Pride grabbed the momentum with a 13-1 scoring run, paced by Mckinney with four kills and a block. Bridgewater State worked its way back into the set with an 8-1 scoring run, led by Cabral with three kills, to close to within three at 20-17. The Pride finished off the set and the match by scoring the final five points, featuring two service aces by Kate Truog (Brookline, Mass.).

The Bonnie May Invitational continues on Saturday. The Bears will take on host Smith tomorrow morning at ten, while the Pride face Bates College at noon.