WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: High Seeds All Sweep Through GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals

#1 Rivier, #2 JWU, #3 Lasell and #4 Simmons all earned 3-0 victories on Tuesday evening as the GNAC Playoffs got underway.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: High Seeds All Sweep Through GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals
November 1, 2022
Photos Box Score Box Score Box Score Box Score


CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Courtesy of Rivier Athletics Communications: 

NASHUA, N.H. - Rivier women's volleyball handled St. Joe's College easily this evening in the GNAC Quarterfinals.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Raiders dominated each set from start to close. The match opened up on a 10-0 run from Riv behind Avery Pollard's (Ballston Lake, NY) serving. She wasn't the only one who was serving with a purpose, as the team finished with a season-high 23 aces. Pollard had seven, along with teammate Sofia Pawlusik (Burnt Hills, NY) racking up five. The Raiders had 30 kills in the match, with Sydney Racevicius (Woodbury, CT) leading the way with ten. Pawlusik held down the defense, tallying 14 digs. Pollard had a match-high 23 assists, along with two kills and four digs. The Monks finished the match with eight kills. Victoria Briones had the team-high with three kills and 11 digs. Hanna Holden had three assists.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
-  Kills: Rivier 30, SJC 8
-  Assists: Rivier 27, SJC 8
-  Digs: Rivier 38, SJC 25

UP NEXT:
- Rivier women's volleyball will be back Thursday for the GNAC Semifinals against Simmons University at 7 pm in the Muldoon Center.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications:  

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Junior Peyton Oliver picked up 17 kills in Johnson & Wales (RI) University's 3-0 win over Norwich University Tuesday night in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Volleyball Quarterfinal action at the Wildcat Center.

Oliver – who finished the match with a .462 hitting pct. – added seven digs and a pair of blocks as the Wildcats (18-11) advanced to the GNAC Semifinals for the 10th consecutive season, where they will host No. 3 seed Lasell University Thursday at 7 p.m. JWU won game one 25-16, game two 25-13, and game three 25-23.

Junior Sarah Miller filled the stat sheet with 14 kills (.323 hitting pct.) and nine digs while sophomore Masina Tupea played her best matching since returning from injury, posting six kills, four digs, and one block. Senior Emily Corbett racked up 18 digs, four assists and two service aces in first-year head coach Michael Houlihan's first playoff game at JWU following 13 seasons at UMass Boston.

Sophomore Kyra Hissner dished out 36 assists for the Wildcats – her highest total since a 55-assist effort against Williams on September 24.

Courtesy of Lasell Athletics Communications:  

NEWTON, Mass. - The #3 seeded Lasell Women's Volleyball team swept the #6 Elms College Blazers Tuesday night in the Athletic Center in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Quarterfinal match-up.

How it happened: In the first set, both teams started out strong as they made it clear they were willing to go the extra mile to gain an advantage in this match. The Lasers went on a 7-0 point run midway through the beginning set, forcing Elms to burn 2 timeouts. After the Blazers settled down, they turned the tables and went on a 8-0 run to force Lasell to use two of their timeouts as well. When the set was tied up at 22 apiece, Elms looked to take advantage and sneak a set under their belt. However, critical errors on the serve and attack caught up to them and the Lasers would sneak by to win set #1. In the beginning of set 2, Lasell jumped out to a 7-0 lead but Elms would refuse to let this set pull away as they kept it close throughout. Lasell's attack towards the end of the set went successful in which four of their five points went over the net as they took set #2. In the last set, the Blazers started out strong yet again, matching the energy the Lasers put out. It was clear that Elms did not want to go away at all. However, Lasell would gradually pull away from the Blazers and defeat them in 3 sets to move onto the next round.

Key Stats:

Lasell moves to 19-13 overall and will advance to the GNAC semifinals and face Johnson & Wales on the road Thursday night at 7PM. 

Courtesy of Simmons Athletics Communications:  

BOSTON – No. 4 Simmons volleyball (17-10, 10-3 GNAC) advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals with a 3-0 sweep of No. 5 Regis College (20-13, 9-4 GNAC) on Tuesday evening. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Simmons 25, Regis 12
The Sharks came into their first post-season match on fire, jumping out to a quick 4-0 advantage forcing the Pride to call their first timeout of the game. Junior outside hitter Jayla Parnell increased the Simmons lead to 5-0 with a kill before Regis scored its first point. 

Coming out of the timeout the Sharks continued to build upon their lead, utilizing a 7-2 run they took a commanding 11-2 advantage and never looked back. Senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono was nearly perfect from the floor, registering five kills on seven attempts, Parnell followed up with four kills of her own. 

Set 2: Simmons 25, Regis 21
Rolling into the second set, momentum remained on the side of the Sharks as they hitting a staggering .515 as a team with 19 kills on 33 attempts and just two errors. Parnell was red-hot from the floor, tallying seven kills on 10 attempts with one miscue for an outstanding .600 attack percentage.

Fellow classmate, junior outside hitter Claire Conners tacked on an additional seven kills to help Simmons take a 2-0 match lead. Junior setter Kat Simeonidis paced the offense with 10 assists, while being solid defensively, recording five digs.

Set 3: Simmons 25, Regis 20
With their backs against the wall and facing.an 0-2 hole, the Pride made the Sharks work to take the match in three sets. Early on in the set, Regis stayed within striking distance, never trailing by more than three.

The Pride pulled to within one point of the Shark lead, 11-10, following a service ace by Olivia Pacheco, it forced first year head coach Pat Helmas to call his first timeout. The Sharks discovered renewed energy as they emerged from the timeout. Iannantuono sparked a 6-0 run by the Sharks to take a 17-10 lead and all but shut the door on the Pride.

Regis tried to claw their way back, pulling to within four points of the Simmons lead four times, including late in the set on a kill by Rita Dow to stave off elimination. But Conners answered with a kill of her own to seal the match. 

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

  • Junior outside hitter Claire Conners hit .312 from the floor with 14 kills on 32 attempts and just four errors.
  • Senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono recorded her eighth double-double of the season as she was flawless from the floor, tallying 12 kills on 19 attempts, while notching 10 digs.
  • Junior outside hitter Jayla Parnell rounded out the Sharks in double digit kills with 12, will junior Kat Simeonidis paced the offense with 20 assists.  

UP NEXT
No. 4 Simmons moves on to the GNAC semifinals on Thursday, November 3 when they travel to Nashua, N.H. to face top seed, No. 1 Rivier University at 7 p.m.