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 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.