WESTON, Mass. – The Wentworth women's volleyball team rank its win streak to a season-high three matches as the Leopards defeated both Regis (3-1) and Mass. Maritime (3-0) in a tri-match hosted by Regis College. With the two wins the Black & Gold improve their record to 6-5 on the season.
Wentworth opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Regis by set scores of 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, and 25-21. The Leopards trailed 10-7 early in the match, but a Julie Rahilly (Nashua, N.H.) kill sparked a 14-3 run that gave WIT a 22-13 lead. Wentworth took advantage of several Pride errors over the final points to seal game one, 25-17.
Regis came out the aggressor in game two as the Pride built an early 10-3 lead capped off by an Olivia Foley (Andover, Mass.) kill. The Leopards chipped away at the lead and made it a three point game at 13-10 on a Pride service error. Regis continued to try and pull away, but the Leopards fought their way back into the game and took a 19-18 lead on a block by Mary Horgan (Mahwah, N.J.) and Julie Rahilly. The teams traded points and were tied at 20-20 and 22-22 before the Leopards committed a pair of errors to give Regis a 24-22 lead, prompting a WIT timeout. Following a Rahilly kill, the Pride took advantage of a Leopard error to steal game two, 25-23.
In the beginning of set three, Wentworth took the early lead this time, as Michelle Hobbs (Northwood, N.H.) recorded back-to-back kills. The Pride clawed their way back into the game at 12-10 following a pair of service aces by Jill Bruning (Medford, Mass.). The teams were tied at 14-all before WIT took an 18-14 lead on another Hobbs kill and a Pride error. Regis followed with a quick 6-0 run as the Leopards made four-straight errors and Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) picked up a service ace, leading to a Wentworth timeout. The Leopards responded to the break in action by ending the game on a 7-0 run capped off by a Rahilly kill to take game three, 25-20.
Game four started out all Regis as the Pride took a 6-0 lead and extended it to 12-4 early in the set. As they had done all day, Wentworth chipped away at the Pride lead and tied it at 17-all following a pair of aces by Michelle Hobbs. The teams traded the next few points and a Rahilly kill gave Wentworth its first lead of the set at 20-19. Three more Pride errors and another Rahilly kill extended their lead to 24-19, but Vanessa Noesi (Puerto Plata, D.R.) and Jackie Silver (West Hills, Calif.) posted back-to-back kills for Regis that extended the game to 24-21. Wentworth wrapped up the win with a service error by the Pride to take the match 3-1.
Wentworth was led by 16 kills from Michelle Hobbs as well as 15 kills from Julie Rahilly, and the duo also added three service aces apiece. Sam Curran (Quincy, Mass.) dished out a match-high 35 assists and had 12 digs. Defensively, Rahilly chipped in with a team-best 14 digs, while Jessica Houghton (Billerica, Mass.) added 12 of her own.
Vanessa Noesi led the Pride attack with 10 kills and five total blocks. Jackie Silver added seven kills, while Samantha Bliss picked up six of her own. Soraia Pinto (Brockton, Mass.) posted a double-double with 24 assists and 17 digs, while Sara Gold (North Hollywood, Calif.) added a match-high 23 digs in the setback.
The Leopards continued their strong play into the second match of the day as Wentworth defeated the Massachusetts Maritime Academy 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17).
The Buccaneers and Leopards traded points throughout the first game as the tie was scored as late as 6-6. Wentworth proceeded to go on a 10-2 run capped off by a Michelle Hobbs kill that prompted a Maritime timeout. MMA's Ashley Button (Southfield, Mass.), Emily Calnan (Hingham, Mass.), and Alex Burgess-Chrost (Leominster, Mass.) registered three straight kills out of the timeout to make it 16-11, and made it 19-15 on a Calnan service ace, but the Leopards ended the game on a 6-1 run to close out the opening set 25-16.
Set two was tied as late as 9-9 before three straight points by Wentworth made it 12-9 and forced a Bucs timeout. Mass. Maritime kept it close, trailing 17-14 after a Leopards attack error, but Wentworth ended the game on an 8-0 run to seal game two 25-14.
The final game saw Mass. Maritime jump out to an early 6-1 lead before the Leopards rattled off five points in a row to tie it at 6-all. Back-to-back service aces by Calnan gave Maritime a 10-7 lead and the Buccaneers hung onto their three point lead at 13-10, but the Leopards tied it at 13-all and took a 14-13 lead following a pair of MMA errors. The Buccaneers tied it at 14, but Wentworth scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 22-16 lead and force another MMA timeout. Wentworth led 24-17 and a Stephanie Nguyen (Medford, Mass.) service ace wrapped up the game, 25-17.
The Leopards were led by 15 kills and nine digs from Michelle Hobbs, while Julie Rahilly added another 13 kills to her total for the day and chipped in with five digs. Mary Horgan and Sam Curran combined for 35 assists, and Nguyen led the Leopards defense with 12 digs.
Massachusetts Maritime received five kills and seven digs from Alex Burgess-Chrost. Emily Calnan added four kills of her own to go with four service aces. Deb Langley (Abington, Mass.) led MMA with four assists, while Marissa Boudreau (New Bedford, Mass.) tied Burgess-Chrost for the team-lead in digs with seven.
Wentworth is back in action Wednesday night as the Leopards return to Commonwealth Coast Conference play at the University of New England.
(Recap Courtsey of Regis Sports Information)
Regis
Mass. Maritime