PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The 2022 Simmons volleyball (18-11) season came to a close, falling to the No. 2 Johnson & Wales (20-11), 3-1, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Junior outside hitter Claire Conners and senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono were named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team at the close of the match. Over the course of the three match tournament, Conners registered an astounding 63 kills which included tallying a career single-game high 27 in Simmons' five-set comeback against Rivier.  

Iannantuono was the steady presence on the court throughout the entire tournament both offensively and defensively, recording 24 kills with 44 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 23
The Sharks came out to a fast start, jumping in front 5-3 before taking an 11-9 on a service ace by sophomore Meghan Doxsee. However, the Wildcats took advantage of a couple of Sharks errors over the next the next five points to take a 14-11 lead, which they would not relinquish. 

Set 2: Simmons 25, Johnson & Wales 22
Simmons evened up the match winning the second set, despite trailing 5-1 early on. The Sharks battled to tie the match a 14-14, then made the adjustment to set Conners more and flipped the switch. Rattling off four straight points to take an 18-14 lead, the Simmons never turned back and to take the set, 25-22.

Set 3: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 16
It began to look as though some of the semifinal magic was re-kindling as momentum was swinging towards them. However, the Wildcats had answer and made the quick defensive adjustment against Conners.

Midway through the set with the Sharks leading ,15-13, Peyton Oliver rejected a Conners attack attempt to cut the deficit to one. The two teams hung tough with each other before Wildcats pulled ahead for good, 20-18, and held on to take a 2-1 match lead

Set 4: Johnson & Wales 25, Simmons 16
Johnson & Wales re-gained the momentum in the fourth set. With the match tied at five, the Wildcats created separation utilizing a 7-2 run to take 12-7 lead and kept the Sharks at bay throughout the remainder of the set.  

But Simmons was not going away quietly. Although they faced match point following a block by Sarah Miller and Ajie Jagne, they made the Wildcats work for their seventh straight championship.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior outside hitter Claire Conners posted a .298 attacke percentage as she led the way with 22 kills on 57 attempts and just five errors.
• Fellow junior Jayla Parnell followed up with 11 kills on 29 attempts.
• Senior outside hitter Sydney Iannantuono was solid defensively with 12 digs.

UP NEXT
The GNAC end of the season awards will be announced on Tuesday, November 8.