NEWTON, Mass. – Mount Ida College dropped a 3-0 decision to Regis College on Monday evening at Mount Ida Athletic Center in the first of a stretch of seven straight non-conference games for the Mustangs.
The loss sets the Mount Ida mark back to 4-10, while Regis improves to 11-7 on the year.
Sophomore Alysha Dunbar (Quincy, Mass.) led the Mustangs with six kills, while junior Taylor Davis (Machiasport, Maine) served up 22 assists in her first game setting, to go with 11 digs on the defensive front.
The Pride got seven kills and ten digs from Gracie Molinari (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), and got their noses in front early in the first game when Haley Schulte (Fullerton, Calif.) served them to a 5-0 lead. Regis used a pair of 6-0 runs to extend their lead to 12-4 and then again to 18-9 before a kill by Courtney Mosher (Taunton, Mass.) and a service ace by Schulte ended the first game 25-14.
Mount Ida hung around in the second set, turning an 8-4 deficit into a 10-8 lead before kills by Nicole Connolly (San Mateo, Calif.) and Schulte put the Pride back in front.
Freshman Mary Kate Reidy (Agawam, Mass.), who had five kills for the Mustangs, put the hosts back in front 16-15, and then served Mount Ida to a 20-19 advantage, but Regis got a pair of kills and used a Mustang attacking error to re-grab the lead, which they would not relinquish, as a service ace by Marilia Ramos (Chimbote, Peru) ended the threat of a Mount Ida comeback.
The third set saw Mount Ida lead as well, with a four point advantage at 15-11. Trying to nail down the victory, Regis ripped off a 10-1 run that included a pair of kills by Mosher, who had six in the match.
Koolman served a pair of aces, of which she had three in the game to go with 18 digs, and Mount Ida pulled back to 21-20, then took a 23-22 lead on a kill by Molly Alkinburg (Port Deposit, Md.).
Regis dug deep and got kills from Kristina del Rey (Miami, Fla.) and Emily DeBarros (Brockton, Mass.), sandwiched around an attack error, to finish off their sweep.
Schulte picked up 23 assists in the win for the Pride, while Connolly had a team-high 13 digs as well as four kills.
Reidy and Nicole Peixoto (New Bedford, Mass.) each were in double-digits in kills with ten, and Alkinburg had four kills and two block assists, while Davis was in on three blocks herself.
Mount Ida will continue their seven-game stretch of non-conference action on Thursday evening when they travel to Bridgewater State at 6:00 pm.
Regis hosts a Pridefest tri-match on Saturday, September 27th when they welcome in Pine Manor and St. Joseph's Brooklyn.