Weston, MA --- The WPI Volleyball program opened the Hardy Mondesir era with a pair of victories at the Regis Pride Invitational on Friday. The two triumphs were the first collegiate coaching wins for Mondesir, who debuts at WPI this fall after a successful run at Boston English High School.
The Engineers posted set scores of 25-6, 25-7 and 25-17 en route to a 3-0 win over Becker in its opening match of the six-team tournament. Kerrin Beovich (Seaford, NY) had eight kills and a pair of service aces, while Elyssa Dorenfeld (Reading, MA) added six kills and four digs for the Engineers. Alanah Durr (Bourne, MA) also registered five kills and Jenny Wallace (Holden, MA) had five service aces. 12 of the 14 players that entered the game for WPI registered at least one kill. Alex Rangel (Weston, FL) dished out a match-high 16 assists to go with a match high six digs.
Becker was led by three kills apiece from Danielle Robbie (Bellingham, MA) and Ashley Peterson (Johnston, RI). Joanna Slomiak (Brockton, MA) handed out a team-high two assists to go along with four digs and a pair of block assists. Robbie and Kayla Prior (Swansea, MA) added three digs apiece.
WPI rolled to a 3-0 win over Regis by winning matches 25-14, 25-15, and 25-16. The Crimson and Gray were led by junior Holly Ganser (Seward, AK), who posted seven kills in the victory. The senior duo of Belinda Nwagbara (Santa Rosa, CA) and Beovich added six kills apiece, while senior Alyssa Fidanza (Ellington, CT) added four serve assists and 13 digs. Rangel recorded a match-high 16 assists, and freshman Wallace pitched in with nine digs.
The Pride were led by sophomore Brooklyn Beliveau's (Weare, NH) 14 assists. Junior Julie Endara (Boca Raton, FL) and sophomore Samantha Bliss (Framingham, MA) added seven kills and five kills, respectively. Junior Sara Gold (North Hollywood, CA) had a match-high 20 digs for Regis, and sophomore Jackie Silver (West Hills, CA) had 1.5 blocks in the match.
WPI continues play in the two-day season-opening tournament Saturday with a 9am semifinal matchup against Worcester State. The championship match is scheduled for 1pm while the three-place contest is schedule for 11am. MIT takes on host Regis in the other semifinal.
Large portion of release courtesy Regis Sports Information
