GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to Simmons University Wednesday night in Gorham's Hill Gym despite a strong effort. Freshman Taylor Joyal (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North) paced the Huskies in digs with 10 and added seven kills to rank third on the team behind Freshman Lizzy Harbester (Plympton, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) and junior Kylee Eubanks-Hemme (Rosamond, Cali.) who each had nine.
 
Freshman Reese Helisek (Halifax, Mass./Silver Lake Regional) recorded a game-high 26 assists in the match for the Huskies. Junior Amelia Beatty (Rochester, N.H./Spaulding) recorded nine digs to finish second on the team behind Joyal's 10.
 
Simmons' Mia LeBrun and Iliana Diaz had nine kills each to tie with Harbester and Eubanks-Hemme for the most in the match.
 
The Records:
Simmons: 9-16
Southern Maine: 8-22
 
Series History:
Tonight's match was the second between Simmons and Southern Maine. Simmons won the first match by a score of 3-0 on September 14, 2019 as part of a tri-match hosted by Trinity College.
 
How It Happened:

• Simmons won the opening set 25-20 thanks to a late 6-2 run to close it out.  The Huskies had a 6-0 run in the set to take a 14-9 lead before the Sharks fought their way back.
• Southern Maine went on a 13-1 after trailing 15-12 to take the set 25-16. The first 6-0 featured two block assists by freshman Scarlett Squires (Mount Desert, Maine/Mount Desert Island), kills by Joyal and Helisek, a Simmons attack error and an ace by sophomore Casey Murillo (League City, Texas/Clear Falls). The Sharks then got a point on a service error before the Huskies ripped off a 7-0 run to end the set. Joyal had two aces and a kill in the run.
• The Sharks retook the match lead with a 25-14 win in the fourth set after jumping out to an 8-2 lead.
• Simmons closed out the match with a 25-16 win after getting off to an 11-4 start.

 
Inside The Stats:

• The Huskies had a 10-9 lead in aces led by a career-high five from Joyal.
• Simmons led 7-4 in blocks.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies will end the season on Saturday at home against Eastern Connecticut State at noon. A Senior Day ceremony will take place prior to the match.