Junior setter Andrea Wirth notched a double-double with 32 assists and 13 digs tonight for the Skyhawks. |
Stonehill Sweeps Past Franklin Pierce, 3-0
Wirth leads Skyhawks with double-double effort
EASTON, Mass. (October 21, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Division II East Regional poll, bounced back from a pair of weekend losses to claim a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) victory over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Junior setter Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) led Stonehill with a double-double effort of 32 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) totaled 13 kills and nine digs, while junior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) posted ten kills with just one error on 19 total attacks for a .474 hitting percentage. Junior Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.H./Bishop Guertin) added ten kills with two errors on 23 attacks for a .348 hitting percentage and two block assists. Junior Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) chipped in with a match-high 18 digs.
Sophomore Laura Huselton led the attack with 13 kills and nine digs. |
Senior Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian) led Franklin Pierce with nine kills, five digs, three service aces and two blocks. Sophomore Dana Rowinski (Dix Hills, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy) added seven kills and 13 digs, while junior Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich./L'Anse Creuse) chipped in 14 digs. Junior Pamela Walker (Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills) dished out 19 assists for the Ravens.
Stonehill led from start to finish in the opening set behind five kills from Noonan. The Skyhawks trailed by as many as five points before rallying in the second set. After a time out down 12-7, Stonehill rallied to knot the score at 16-16 after two-straight Franklin Pierce attack errors - one on a Skyhawk block by Noonan and sophomore Kate Sullivan (Kensington, N.H./Saint Thomas Aquinas). Stonehill then reeled off three-straight points after kills from Huselton and Noonan to take the lead, extending it to four points (22-18) before closing the set out with three-straight kills. Huselton led the Skyhawks with eight kills in the set.
Stonehill came from behind again in the third set to close out the match. Franklin Pierce led 22-19 after a Stonehill hitting error, but the Skyhawks emerged from a timeout to reel off the final six points of the match. Johnson posted three kills in the closing run for the hosts.
Stonehill (12-7, 7-3 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it visits Southern New Hampshire University for a tri-match. The Skyhawks will face the Penmen in an NE-10 matchup at 2 p.m., after battling New York Institute of Technology in a non-conference clash at noon. Franklin Pierce (6-16, 3-6 NE-10) travels to American International College for a tri-match on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m.
