WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Anna Maria splits GNAC pair vs. Regis and Saint Joseph (Conn.)

THE BASICS:

- Score: Regis College 3, Anna Maria College 0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-12)
- Score: Anna Maria College 3, University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 1 (25-18, 25-19, 18-25, 25-18)

- Records: Anna Maria (4-14, 1-6 GNAC), Regis (9-12, 5-2 GNAC), Saint Joseph (4-12, 0-6 GNAC)

- Location: Paxton, Mass. (Fuller Activities Center)

- The Lead: The Anna Maria College women's volleyball team split a pair of Great Northeast Athletic Conference matches Saturday, defeating the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 3-1, after a 3-0 loss to Regis College. The win over Saint Joseph snapped a 14-match losing streak and gives the AMCATS their first GNAC win of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Match One

-The Pride had a streak of seven straight points to turn a 5-3 score into a 12-3 lead over the AMCATS in the first set. Regis added five consecutive points a short time later to extend its lead to 18-5 before closing out the set by a 25-9 score.

-The score was 3-2 early on before Regis again went on a tear, tallying eight points in a row to open up an 11-2 margin. The AMCATS regrouped and stayed competitive the rest of the set but couldn't recover and dropped a 25-14 verdict in the middle set.

-Anna Maria matched Regis point for point in the first half of the third set, with the score tied six times, including the final time at 10-10. But the Pride took off again, rattling off 14 of the next 15 points before closing out the set, 25-12, and the match, 3-0.

Stat Leaders

-Senior Rebecca Foti (Bedford, N.H.) led the AMCATS with 10 kills and a .206 attack percentage, and junior Victoria Falco (Marlborough, Mass.) added three kills. Senior Kerri Earle (Bethel, Conn.) chipped in with 10 assists.

-Foti and Falco also topped the team with nine and eight digs, respectively.

Match Two

-The first set was tied 4-4 before Anna Maria started to pull away, taking leads of 9-5 and 12-7. USJ cut the margin back to three points (12-9) but the AMCATS answered with seven consecutive points on the serving by Foti to open up a 19-9 advantage. The Blue Jays made a little comeback and got to within seven points but the hosts held on for a 25-18 win in the set.

-Anna Maria came out strong in the second set and took a 10-1 lead, with five points coming on service aces by Foti. Saint Joseph battled back and pulled to within five points (15-10), but couldn't overcome the deficit and Anna Maria took the second set, 25-19, on two late kills by Foti.

-The Blue Jays bounced back and scored the first eight points of the third set and led 12-4 midway through the set. The AMCATS tried to whittle away at the deficit, but Saint Joseph had enough to pull out a 25-18 victory and force a fourth set.

-The AMCATS scored six straight points early on to turn a 4-4 tie into a 10-4 lead. Saint Joseph pulled to within one point three times in the middle of the set but couldn't tie it up until leveling the score at 16-all. Anna Maria called timeout and scored seven straight points after the break, and went on to take the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

Stat Leaders

-Foti finished with 20 kills in the match, her fourth 20-kill performance of the season. She also matched her season-high with nine service aces and added 21 digs for an impressive "20-20" showing.

-Junior Sarah Lathrop (Waterford, Conn.) chipped in with eight kills, which is tied for her fourth best performance of the season.

-Senior Kerri Earle (Bethel, Conn.) was impressive at setter, posting a season-high 35 set assists.

-The AMCATS had five players reach double figures in digs, including Foti, Lathrop and Falco with 16 apiece, Earle with 13, and junior Carolina Garcia (Springfield, Mass.) with 11.

UP NEXT:

Anna Maria gets back on the court Thursday with a non-conference match at Rhode Island College (6:00 p.m.) and returns home next Saturday to host Mount Ida College in a noon GNAC encounter.

* * *