BOSTON – Freshman Monika Schneider (Brookline, N.H.) tallied five kills to lead the Norwich University women's volleyball team on Saturday as the Cadets lost a 3-0 match to Simmons College, dropping to 5-11 overall and to 1-5 within the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. 

Simmons (7-9, 4-2 GNAC) cruised to the straight-set victory via scores of 25-11, 25-18 and 25-12. As a team, the Sharks hit a commanding .261 after posting 36 kills and only 12 errors on 92 total attacks while limiting Norwich to only 17 kills – the Cadets also committed 15 attacking errors on 76 total swings. 

Junior Katie Crane (Avon, N.Y.) and sophomore Emily Oliver (Sagamore Hills, Ohio) handed out seven assists apiece while freshman Brianna Dawson (Katonah, N.Y.) led her team with 13 digs – she also tallied her team's lone service ace on the match. Oliver ranked second on the team defensively with seven digs. 

The Sharks captured the 25-11 first set victory after opening up a 15-9 lead and never looking back. Simmons would ultimately post 10 of the set's next 12 points while hitting a dominant .348 in the opening set alone – the hosts also pounded home six service aces, a match-high. 

Norwich would battle back in the second set, tying the score at 10, but a five-point rally by Simmons would eliminate any chance of a comeback. The third set was easily claimed by the Sharks, who opened up a 20-6 lead and never looked back – at one point, Simmons had scored 16-straight points, overwhelming the Cadets. 

Abby Hart posted 11 kills on 23 errorless attacks, hitting a dominant .478 on the match. Kenna McCarthy set up 24 of her team's 36 kills while Kat Guillotte registered 13 digs on the afternoon. Morgan Weeg also reached double-digit dig totals with 11. 

The Cadets will look to have a short memory as they travel to Nashua, N.H. to take on Rivier College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Rivier currently boasts a 21-3 overall record and a league mark of 5-1.