CAMBRIDGE, Mass – Lesley University fell to Regis College 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-22) tonight in New England Collegiate Conference women's volleyball action at Buckingham, Browne, and Nichols. The loss is Lesley's first blemish in NECC play as they fall to 15-4 overall and 6-1 in the conference. The win propels the Pride into sole possession of first place in the conference as they improve to 20-8 and a perfect 7-0 in NECC play.
Prior to the match, the Lynx honored Danielle Johnson (Waterford, Conn.) in a Senior Night Celebration as they presented her with flowers and a plaque to commemorate her four year career. The hosts also presented flowers to the four Pride seniors, Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru), Sara Casullo (Little Falls, N.Y.), Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.), and Jackie Silver (West Hills, Calif.).
Sophomore Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) led all players with 11 kills while freshman Gracie Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) chipped in with 10 for the visitors. Freshman setter Tina Lathrop (Houston, Texas) set up the Pride attack as she dished out a team-best 30 assists and anchored the Regis defense as she was credited with a team-high 14 digs on the night.
Freshman Anni Abbruzzese (Croton on Hudson, N.Y.) paced the Lynx attack with 10 kills while classmate Ciara Bruning (Centerville, Mass.) finished with nine of her own. Junior Melisa Randall (Fremont, Calif.) connected for eight kills to go with her 11 digs while fellow junior Emily Marden (Fremont, Calif.) set up the Lynx with a match-high 31 assists on the night. Junior Danielle McDonald (Lilitz, Pa.) anchored the Lesley defense with 13 digs.
Trailing 17-14 in the opening set, the Lynx went on a 9-4 spurt to jump ahead 23-21, but the Pride answered with three unanswered points to reclaim a 24-23 edge. With the score even at 25-25, Regis took a pivotal 27-25 first set victory on consecutive Lesley errors.
The Pride continued their momentum in the second as they jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never looked back as they rolled to the 25-19 set win. Molinari paced the attack with four kills while freshmen Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.), Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.), and del Rey all connected for a pair of kills.
Regis led 15-10 in the third before Lesley went on an 8-2 run capped by a Johnson kill to put the hosts up 18-17. Once again, the Pride had an answer and sparked a 4-0 run of their own as they went on to win the third 25-22 for the sweep.
The Lynx will wrap up their regular season on Saturday when they travel to Southern Vermont College for a battle with the Mountaineers at 6:00p. The Pride will also conclude their regular season on Saturday as they host a tri-match with Newbury College and Wentworth Institute of Technology.