Volleyball Falls to Regis, 3-0

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Regis College volleyball team posted a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State University on Thursday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Pride, who won by set scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-19, improve to 3-3 on the season, while the Bears fall to 3-2.

Freshman middle hitter Rita Dow (Nashua, N.H.) paced Regis with ten kills and a .643 hitting percentage to go along with a pair of aces, while senior outside hitter Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) finished with eight kills and nine digs. Sophomore setter Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) dished out 21 assists and senior middle blocker Lauren Butt (Topsfield, Mass.) recorded six kills, a .500 hitting percentage and five blocks including three solo. Sophomore defensive specialist Mica van der Meulen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) checked in with 11 digs.

Junior middle hitter Sydney Rice (Medway, Mass.) had an outstanding first set for the Bears as she notched six kills, a .625 hitting percentage and a solo block, but was injured late in the set and did not return. Junior setter Casey Holmes (Norton, Mass.) recorded 19 assists for the match as well as three digs, a kill and a match-high four aces. Freshman libero Victoria Caiano (New Bedford, Mass.) tallied a match-best 12 digs to go along with three aces, while junior outside hitter Gabryella Serrano (Bridgewater, Mass.) notched six kills and sophomore right side Becca Whalen (Plymouth, Mass.) chipped in four kills and a pair of solo blocks.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair. With the score tied at 22-22, a kill by Dow, an ace by sophomore outside hitter Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) and a BSU error closed out the set and gave the Pride a 25-22 win.

The second set was also tightly contested. The Bears trailed 6-1 early, but rallied to take a 15-12 lead following a 6-1 run capped off by a block from junior defensive specialist Maggie Czarniak (Kingston, Mass.). The Pride then reeled off six straight points and would hang on to the 25-21 triumph. The Bears at one point closed the gap to 20-19 following a kill by Serrano and a pair of Regis attacking errors. That would be as close as the hosts would get, however, as the Pride received a pair of kills from Whalen and Dow and took advantage of three BSU attacking errors.

The Pride seemed in control of the third set as they jumped out to a 12-3 lead. The Bears answered with a 9-2 run, highlighted by three aces from Holmes, to close the gap to 14-12, but Regis responded with a 9-1 spurt to reclaim control of the set. Five straight service points by Caiano including three aces made things interesting, but the Pride held on for the 25-19 victory and a sweep of the match.

Bridgewater State struggled on the attack and on the serve throughout the match. The Bears committed as many attacking errors as kills (23), and finished with nine aces but also 11 serving errors.

Regis posted a .106 hitting percentage for the match and recorded nearly as many serving errors (6) as aces (7). The Pride also notched 11 blocks.

The Bears travel to Gordon College on Saturday morning for a 10:00 AM tri-match with the host Fighting Scots and Wheaton College. The Pride head to Smith College on Saturday afternoon for a one o'clock tri-match with the host Pioneers and Western New England University.