BOSTON, Mass.- In a back and forth contest, the Dean College Bulldogs were ultimately upeneded by the Simmons College Sharks, 3-2 in a five-set thriller in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's volleyball action on Tuesday night.

Simmons took the opening set 25-22, wrestling back the lead from the Bulldogs midway through the set, after Dean had rallied to take control. Simmons scored five of the final seven points to take the opening game. The Bulldogs bounced back in set two, earning a 25-21 win to level the score. Dean had an early 5-1 lead, but the hosts eventually rallied and took the lead. Simmons led 17-16 before the Bulldogs scored eight of ten to put a tight grip on the set, with a Caitlin Cooper (Amherst, N.H.) kill finishing off the game. 

Set three was close throughout, with neither team holding a major advantage. Dean led 20-19 off a kill by Emily Ball (Feeding Hills, Mass.) but the Sharks responded with four straight points to take a 23-20 lead. Trailing 24-21, the Bulldogs got two back to close the gap to one, but Simmons finished off the game with a kill to ice the victory and take a 2-1 lead. Dean responded again the next set, leading wire-to-wire in a dominant 25-17 set victory. Dean's final run of points was capped by three straight kills from different players, as Kaesta Sandy (Everett, Mass.), Janai Price (Providence, R.I.), and Chloe Demaio (Needham, Mass.) scored three in a row to seal the game. Simmons got the best of the visitors in the final frame, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and cruising to a 15-6 victory in the final set.

Ball led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and one error on 25 attacks (.440). Price recorded nine kills and a game-high 15 digs. Demaio had seven kills and four blocks, while first-year Maddy Seymour (Simsbury, Conn.) provided six kills. Setter Anabella Driscoll (Plymouth, Mass.) contributed 33 assists.

Dean is back in action on Saturday when they travel to Norwich for a GNAC tri-match with Lasell and the Cadets at 1 and 3 p.m.