Anna Maria Falls in GNAC Tri-Match

Providence, R.I. – The Johnson & Wales University women's volleyball team swept a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tri-match against Anna Maria and Simmons at the Wildcat Center on the road on Saturday afternoon.  Prior to game there was a ceremony honoring seniors Ashley Rey (Miami, Fla.), Giselle Cram (Vega Alta, Puerto Rico), Courtney Wright (Windham, N.H.), Kasey Higgins (Wallingford, Conn.), Natasha Finkbeiner (Belgrade, Mont.) and Megan Bollerman (Mahwah, N.J.).

In the opening match of the day, Johnson & Wales recorded a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) victory over Anna Maria.  Wright paced JWU with nine kills and five digs while Higgins tallied 15 set assists four digs and three service aces.  Cram notched 14 set assists in the victory for the Wildcats.  Sophomore Alyssa Haberman (Boca Raton, Fla.) led the way for Anna Maria with seven kills and two digs while sophomore Samantha Parker (Athol, Mass.) had 17 set assists and six digs in the loss for the AMCats.

The second match of the day saw Simmons with a 3-0 (25-20, 20-11, 25-23) win against Anna Maria.  Sophomore Nicole Alberghini (Northborough, Mass.) tallied a match-high 11 kills in the victory for Simmons while freshman Andalyn Duke (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) 31 set assists for the Sharks.  Parker notched 11 set assists in the setback for Anna Maria.

The afternoon wrapped up with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) JWU victory over Simmons.  Junior Carey Kirk (Purcellville, Va.) had 13 kills and two blocks while junior Alyssa Drapeau (Biddeford, Maine) also had 13 kills and two digs for JWU.  Higgins notched 18 set assists while Cram added 16 digs for the Wildcats.  Duke had 17 set assists and six digs in the loss for the Sharks.

With the two wins Johnson & Wales improves to 12-18 on the season and 7-2 in the GNAC while Simmons is 7-23 for the year and 7-4 in league play.  Anna Maria is 9-14 and 1-10 in the conference.