BOSTON – Simmons volleyball opened the season with a five-set victory over non-conference rival Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-2, Thursday evening. Junior Claire Conners registered a career single-game high 21 kills on 56 attempts with just five miscues for a solid .286 attack percentage.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1: Simmons 25, Wentworth 21
The Sharks came out of the gate strong edging out the Leopards, 25-21. Junior Jayla Parnell led the way with four kills, while fellow juniors Claire Conners and Kat Simeonidis followed up with three kills of their own. 

Game 2: Wentworth 25, Simmons 23
Wentworth evened up the match in the second, utilizing a 7-1 run midway through the set to pull away. Trailing by six, late in the set, the Sharks mounted a valiant comeback, pulling to within two points of the lead following back-to-back kills by senior Sydney Iannantuno and Simeonidis. But no matter how close they got, Wentworth answered with a kill Shannon Raftery as they went on to take the second set, 25-23.

Game 3: Simmons 27, Wentworth 25
Conners and Parnell put Simmons back on top with a grueling, 27-25, win in game three. The pair of juniors each recorded six kills, with Parnell being nearly flawless from the floor tallying six kills on seven attempts with just one miscue. Iannantuono followed up with three kills, while Simeonidis was solidf defensively with six digs.

Game 4: Wentworth 25, Simmons 20
However, the Leopards were not going away quietly. Hitting .250 as a team in the four set, Wentworth forced a fifth set with a 25-20 victory. Ema Thompson led the way for the Leopards with four kills.

Game 5: Simmons 19, Wentworth 17
The Sharks found themselves down early in the fifth and final set. Trailing 8-5 when the teams switched sides, Simmons clawed their way back into the game and took advantage of a key Wentworth miscues.

With their backs against the wall and facing match-point, Conners and first-year Alex Spencer ignited a 3-0 run stuffing a Helen Barthe attack attempt to pull within two points, 14-12. Parnell registered a pair of aces to knot up the game at 14-14 before Conners took over offensively, tallying three kills to seal the win.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Junior Claire Conners recorded a career single-game high 21 kills, while posting a .286 attack percentage.
• Junior Jayla Parnell followed up with 15 kills on 34 attempts for a .294 attack percentage.
• Senior Sydney Iannantuono rounded out the trio in double figure kills with 14.
• Junior Kat Simeonidis and sophomore Joenissa Ortiz both recorded six aces in the victory.

UP NEXT
Simmons returns to the hard court on Sunday, Sept. 4 traveling to nearby Emerson to play a tri-match against the host Lions and Manhattanville beginning at 10 a.m.