WALTHAM, Mass. -- The Regis College women's volleyball team made the short trip to Waltham on Friday evening for the Brandeis Invitational, taking on the host Judges and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The Pride split their two matches, earning a 3-1 victory over Brandeis before falling 3-0 to MIT.

First-year Beatriz Paulo (Newton, Mass.) led the way for the Pride in the opener, tallying 13.5 points behind 11 kills, two service aces, and a block. Avery Mola (Cheshire, Conn.) and Bella Karpicz (Berkley, Mass.) followed with 10.5 points each—Mola finishing with nine kills and 10 digs, while Karpicz added five kills, three aces, and five blocks. Alexandra Rivera (Bristol, Conn.) facilitated the attack with 30 assists.

In the second match, Mola and Paulo each recorded three kills, while Rivera handed out six assists in the effort. On the defensive end, Isabella Seccareccio (Medford, Mass.) paced the Pride with seven digs.

Regis vs. Brandeis:

Regis shook off a slow start in the opening set, erasing an early eight-point deficit with a late surge. A 6-0 run behind Gwen Arnold's (West Hartford, Conn.) serving, paired with kills from Avery Mola and Eva Catalanotto (Cheshire, Conn.), pushed the Pride ahead before a Grace Fabiano (Greenland, N.H.) finish sealed the 25-22 win.

Brandeis responded in set two, trading points with the Pride in a back-and-forth battle. Regis held a slight edge early, but the Judges used a 4-0 run to go up 10-8. The Pride fought back to knot the score at 15, only for Brandeis to seize momentum with six unanswered points. That decisive stretch carried the Judges to a 25-19 victory, evening the match at one set apiece.

The Pride regained control in the third, sparked by Paulo, who posted two kills, two aces, and a block to fuel an early 7-2 advantage. Regis' attack stayed hot, stretching the lead to 22-13 before closing the frame 25-18.

In the fourth, Brandeis capitalized on early miscues to grab the lead, but Regis quickly steadied itself. A 5-1 run midway through gave the Pride a 14-12 advantage, and from there the two teams traded points until Regis broke away with four straight to open up a cushion. The Judges attempted to rally late, pulling within three, but the Pride slammed the door as a Karpicz kill and a block from Karpicz and Fabiano clinched the 25-20 win and secured the 3-1 match victory.

Regis vs. MIT:

MIT raced out to an 11-2 lead in the opening set before an Engineer error and an Mola kill briefly halted the run. The Engineers quickly rebuilt momentum, stretching their lead back to double digits. A service ace from Ayla Albers (San Diego, Calif.) pulled Regis within eight, but MIT closed strong to secure the 25-12 win.

The Engineers started set two in similar fashion, using multiple scoring runs to go up 17-3. The Pride battled back with an 8-0 stretch fueled by two Rivera aces and several MIT miscues, cutting the deficit to 22-13. That was as close as Regis would get, however, as the Engineers closed out the frame 25-14 to take a 2-0 match lead.

In the third, Regis narrowed an early seven-point gap with four unanswered points to trail just 12-9, but MIT responded with a decisive 13-0 run to claim the set 25-9 and finish off the 3-0 sweep.

Inside the Numbers:

• Beatriz Paulo's 11 kills against Brandeis marked the most by a first-year in their debut over the past ten years.
• The Pride's 3-1 victory over the Judges was their first over Brandeis since the 1985 season.

Up Next:

The Pride return to Brandeis on Saturday, August 30, to face the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers at 1 p.m. for day two of the Brandeis Invitational.