NORTON, Mass. – Graduate senior April Beatty notches first triple-double of the season, tallying 11 kills, 16 assists and 12 digs, as Simmons volleyball (9-12) drops a tough five-set match against non-conference Wheaton College (10-18), 3-2, on Thursday evening.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1: Simmons 25, Wheaton 22
Posting a .314 attack percentage as a team, the Sharks jumped out in front to a 1-0 match lead due in part to a late comeback win in first set. Trailing by five, 22-18, Simmons utilized a 7-0 run to take the first set, 25-22.
 
During the seven point stretch sophomore Hannah Pridgeon notched three of her team-high five kills in set as she led the offense, hitting .333 with five kills on nine attempts. Fellow sophomore Alicia Beatty paced the Sharks with six assists.
 
SET 2: Wheaton 25, Simmons 21
The Lyons managed to even the match, edging out the Sharks, 25-21, after hitting a staggering .407 from the floor. However, Pridgeon continued to power the Simmons offense registering four kills on 10 attempts with one error for a .300 attack percentage.
 
SET 3: Simmons 25, Wheaton 23
Simmons answered in the third set as they were nearly flawless from the floor, tallying just one error on 37 attempts as they took the 2-1 lead. Graduate senior Zoë Chatteron led the Sharks with four kills, while Pridgeon and graduate senior April Beatty were nearly perfect from the floor. Pridgeon followed up with three kills on five attempts, while Beatty was two for four.
 
SET 4: Wheaton 26, Simmons 24
The fourth set was another close battle. Pridgeon capped a 4-0 run early with back-to-back kills to give the Sharks a 9-6 advantage and force the Lyons to call their first timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Wheaton chipped away at the lead and built themselves a four-point, 17-13 lead midway through the contest.
 
With their backs against the wall, trailing 24-21 late, the Sharks rallied and chipped their way back. Pridgeon tied up the set at 24 with back-to-back kills. But the Lyons answered and were able to hold on to take the set, 26-24 and force a deciding game five.
 
SET 5: Wheaton 15, Simmons 10
The Lyons grabbed an early lead in at the start of the fifth set, but the Sharks responded with. 4-1 run to pull ahead by one, 6-5, and force Wheaton to call a timeout. Back-to-back aces from sophomore Carolina Rodriguez gave the Sharks a three-point, 9-6, lead, but momentum began to swing over to the Lyon bench utilizing a 6-0 run to take a 12-9 lead. They never looked back.
 
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Sophomore Hannah Pridgeon recording 20-plus kills for the third time in four games, tallying 20 kills on 46 attempts and just eight miscues.
• Graduate senior April Beatty registered her first triple-double of the season tallying 11 kills, 12 digs and pacing the offense with 16 assists. Additionally, Beatty hit .292 with 11 kills on 24 attempts and four errors.
• Sophomore libero Carolina Rodriguez anchored the back row with 22 kills.
• Junior Illiana Diaz posed a .312 attack percentage with seven kills on 15 attempts with two errors.

 
UP NEXT
Simmons returns to the hard-court on Saturday, November 2 travel to West Hartford, Connecticut for a GNAC tri-match against Johnson & Wales (1 p.m.) and the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) (3 p.m.).