Regis Topples Lasell, 3-0 in Women's Volleyball Action

WESTON, Mass. (9/11/14) – The Lasell College women's volleyball team fell, 3-0 to nearby Regis College on Thursday night in non-conference women's volleyball action. The Pride have won seven of their last eight matches to move to 8-3, while Lasell falls to 0-10 on the year.

Lasell was led by Odina Ellis (Providence, R.I.) with eight kills and three blocks. Alyssa Nahigian (Coventry, R.I.) added seven kills and six digs, while Michele Canestro (Castleton, N.Y.)  had four kills, two aces, and a match-high 13 digs. Taylor Tiezzi (Meriden, Conn.) had a pair of kills to go with 21 assists and seven digs.

Regis was led by Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) with seven kills in the match, while Emily DeBarros added five of her own. Haley Schulte dished out 19 assists and added five digs. Nicole Connolly posted three kills and a match-high six service aces to go with a team-best 11 digs. Sam Bliss and Haley Schulte each had five digs.

The two teams traded leads in the opening set as Lasell jumped out to an early 5-2 edge, before the Pride grabbed an 8-5 lead, and soon the teams were tied at 9-9. The Lasers used a pair of Pride errors and a kill from Odina Ellis to take a 13-11 advantage, but the Pride scored three-straight points to grab a 14-13 lead after a block from Haley Schulte (Fullerton, Calif.) and Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.).

Lasell tied the score 16-16 on a block by Michele Canestro and Kathy Cameron (Boston, Mass.), and Regis answered again – this time going on a 4-0 run that forced a Lasell timeout. The Lasers would get as close as 23-21 late in the set, but an Emily DeBarros (Brockton, Mass.) kill followed by a Shay Faber kill would seal the opening game for the Pride, 25-21.

As they had done in the opening set, Lasell raced out to an early 4-1 lead on back-to-back service aces by Taylor Tiezzi. The Pride eventually tied the score at 9-9 following a Sam Bliss (Framingham, Mass.) ace and never looked back, scoring 16 of the final 19 points in the game to grab a 2-0 lead in the match. Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) had a run of five-straight service aces during the 16-3 stretch.

The Lasers grabbed another early lead in the third set as a Tiezzi kill made it a 7-2 game. Regis fought back to tie it at 8-8 on back-to-back aces from Faber, and a Lasell error gave the Pride their first lead of the set. The two teams traded points and another Laser error staked the Pride to a 15-12 advantage midway through the game. Lasell would not give up, using a 9-2 run to take a 21-17 lead and force a Regis timeout. Alyssa Nahigian posted a pair of kills during the run.

Out of the break, Faber cut the lead to 21-18 with a kill, but the Lasers answered right back with a Heather Longley (North Granby, Conn.) point to keep it 22-19. Two quick points by the Pride made it a 22-21 contest, but Michele Canestro recorded a kill and Odina Ellis added a solo block to put the Lasers within one point of winning the third game. The Pride took advantage of two-straight errors by Lasell and a block from Faber and Mosher to tie it 24-all and force a Lasell timeout.

Lasell took a 25-24 lead on a service error and the Pride answered back with a kill from Bliss to knot it at 25-25. Odina Ellis recorded her eighth kill of the night to make it a 26-25 game, but Shay Faber's solo block tied the game at 26 and ignited the Pride. Emily DeBarros nailed a kill of her own to make it a 27-26 game, and the final point of the night came on a Lasell error as Regis took the final set 28-26, and grabbed the 3-0 sweep of the Lasers.

Regis is back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Rivier University for a tri-match with Emerson and the Raiders starting at 1:00 p.m. Lasell continues their season when they host Wentworth and Maine Maritime in a tri-match Saturday afternoon starting at 11:00 a.m.