BOSTON – Simmons volleyball (5-8, 3-0 GNAC) moved to 3-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action shutting out Elms College (1-14, 1-4 GNAC) on Wednesday evening.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1: Simmons 25, Elms 9
The Sharks set the tone, coming out firing in the first set, hitting a staggering .517 tallying 17 kills on 29 attempts and only two errors. Graduate senior April Beatty was flawless from the floor with five kills on seven attempts, while senior Meghan Doxsee was a perfect three-for-three from the floor.
 
SET 2: Simmons 25, Elms 10
The offense continued to roll into the third set. April Beatty was the spark for the Sharks, notching four kills on six attempts as sophomore Alicia Beatty helped pace the offense with five assists. Junior Kate Petrosso and sophomore Kira Buonopane combined to hit .667 with four kills on six attempts as the Sharks took a commanding 2-0 match lead.
 
SET 3: Simmons 28, Elms 26
Despite trailing by two sets, the Blazers were not going away quietly and made the third set a tight barn-burner. It was a see-saw battle until the Sharks utilized a 5-1 run late in the set to take a commanding 23-17 lead.
 
However, Elms took advantage of a trio of Simmons errors late to pull within one, 23-22, forcing Head Coach Pat Helmas to call his first time out. Coming out of the time out, the Sharks answered with a monstrous kill by Pridgeon to put them at match point, 24-22.
 
The Blazers hung tough coming back to tie the match at 24 before gaining the lead minutes later, but it did not last for long. Simmons responded with a pair of kills from graduate senior Zoë Chatteron to seal the win.
 
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Graduate senior April Beatty posted a .375 attack percentage, leading the way with 10 kills on 24 attempts and just one error, while notching fourth double-double of the season with 16 assists.
• Sophomore Hannah Pridgeon tallied 10 kills and seven digs.
• Sophomore Alicia Beatty helped pace the offense with 16 assists.

UP NEXT
Simmons returns to the hard-court on Friday, October 4 when they host Emmanuel College at 7 p.m.