Falcons Take On Regis And WPI In Tri-Match

Riccardi and Sheehan combine for 19 kills

Worcester, Mass. - The Fitchburg State Women's Volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to the Pride of Regis College in their opening match before falling 3-0 to the host Engineers of WPI this afternoon at the Harrington Gymansium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Regis 3 (16-25, 15-25, 14-25)

Records: Fitchburg State (3-11) | Regis (7-12)

How It Happened

(Game One)

First Set

Fitchburg State cut the lead to 5-3 in the opening set on an assisted block from sophomore Leah Sheehan (Billerica, Mass.) and senior Kathryn Newcomb (Portsmouth, R.I.) before Regis upped its lead to 11-5 on a kill by junior Nia Pires (Cambridge, Mass.). The Falcons responded with a pair of kills from Sheehan (21-16), but the Pride secured the 25-16 first set victory on a Samantha Silveira (East Taunton, Mass.) kill.

Second Set

The Green and Gold knotted the set at 8-8 following a service ace by sophomore Chloe Guzman (Pawtucket, Conn.). Trailing 18-10, Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 18-12 on another kill by Sheehan before Regis converted three of the final four points for the 25-15, second set triumph.

Third Set

Fitchburg State took a 5-4 edge kills from Newcomb and senior Jaquelyn Manyak (Bolton, Mass.), but the Pride regained the lead (9-5) on a Valerie Whalen (Stoughton, Mass.) kill. Following a kill by Lauren Riccardi (Tewksbury, Mass.), Regis secured its seventh victory of the season however on a kill by Whalen.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, WPI 3 (8-25, 9-25, 6-25)

Records: Fitchburg State (3-12) | WPI (10-8)

How It Happened

(Game Two)

First Set

WPi grabbed an 8-0 advantage on a kill by Amanda Wetmore (Hudson, N.H.) before Fitchburg State cut the lead to 11-3 on kills from Sheehan and Manyak. The Falcons continue to battle as Guzman registered a pair of kills, but the Engineers notched the 25-8 first set final.

Second Set

The Green and Gold grabbed a 1-0 edge on a kill from junior Perry Joubert (Seekonk, Mass.) before the Engineers responded with a Sarah Kwatinetz (Seattle, Wash.) kill for the 6-2 margin. Fitchburg State chipped the lead to 8-5 on back-to-back kills from Riccardi. WPI would take the second set (25-9) on a Maddie Sanborn () kill

Third Set

Down 15-3, Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 15-6 on kills from Riccardi and junior Paige Anderson (Winchendon, Mass.) before WPI rattled off ten straight points to secure the 25-6 third set final on a Kate Amrein (Nashua, N.H.) service ace.

Inside the Numbers

This afternoon's contest will mark the 18th meeting between the two teams on the volleyball court with the Falcons 7-11 all-time when taking on the Pride

Regis has won the las five matches against Fitchburg State, including a 3-0 decision last season at the Harrington Gymnasium

Fitchburg State was paced by Sheehan with a team-best six kills and three blocking assists, while Riccardi added nine digs, three kills, one service ace and one block.

For Regis, senior Katryna Veasey (Quincy, Mass.) finished with a match-best ten kills, three digs and one blocking assists, while sophomore Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) added 13 assists, one service ace and five digs.

This afternoon's contest will mark the 13th meeting between the two teams on the volleyball court with the Falcons 1-12 all-time when taking on the Engineers

The two teams had split the last two meetings with the Engineers securing a 3-0 triumph in the last matchup at the Harrington Gymnasium last season

Fitchburg State was led by Guzman with two kills, two service aces and five kills, while RIccardi collected five digs, three kills and one assist.

Freshman Catherine Reynolds (Concord, N.H.) notched a match-leading 12 assists, two service aces and five digs, while Amrein registered 13 digs, six kills, one assist and four service aces.

Up Next

Falcons will host the Bears of Bridgewater State on Tuesday for a MASCAC matchup, starting at 6:00 PM. Pride will host the Monks of Saint Joseph's (Me) on Wednesday at 7:00 PM. Engineers will host the Rams of Suffolk University on Tuesday in non-conference action at 7:00 PM.