Sophomore Laura Huselton led Stonehill with 16 kills, 15 digs and two aces. |
Pace Turns Back Stonehill Rally, 3-2
Setters halt Skyhawks rally in fifth set; Del Real leads with 21 kills
EASTON, Mass. (October 16, 2009) - Pace University held off a Stonehill College rally from two sets down to notch a 3-2 (25-19, 25-23, 17-25, 18-25, 15-6) victory in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.
Stonehill threatened to rally from two sets down for the second-straight home match, rolling to victory in the third and fourth sets, hitting .312 and .375 as a team respectively in those sets, but had just three kills to seven hitting errors for a -.118 hitting percentage in the fifth set to stall the comeback. Both teams entered the match ranked in the first NCAA Division II East Regional rankings with the Skyhawks ranked fifth and the Setters sixth.
Freshman Susana Verdugo Del Real (El Centro, Calif./Southwest) led Pace with a match-high 21 kills with just seven hitting errors on 44 total attacks for a .318 hitting percentage to go with nine digs and four block assists. Junior Sianna Johnson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) added 14 kills and three block assists, while classmate Victoria Pompilus (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) posted 12 kills and only five errors on 20 total attacks for a .350 hitting percentage and eight blocks.
Junior Andrea Wirth contributed 42 assists and nine digs. |
Sophomore setter Shea Hansen (Mesa, Ariz./Red Mountain) dished out 50 assists to go with six digs and two blocks. Junior Stephanie Kazmierczak (Buffalo, N.Y./City Honors) and freshman Elyse Rowland (Antioch, Calif./Deer Valley) each collected 23 digs, while Kazmierczak also served up four aces. Freshman Nora Rugova (Mt. Kisco, N.Y./Fox Lane) notched a double-double with ten kills and ten digs.
Sophomore Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) led Stonehill with a double-double effort of 16 kills and 15 digs to go with a service ace. Junior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) contributed 11 kills, five digs and two block assists, while classmate Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.Y./Bishop Guertin) posted nine kills and three block assists.
Junior setter Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) dished out 42 assists for the Skyhawks to go with nine digs. Junior Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) chipped in with a match-high 27 digs, while sophomore Michelle Thornhill (Canyon Lake, Calif./Temescal Canyon) contributed 18 digs, eight kills and two block assists.
Stonehill (11-6, 6-2 NE-10) is right back in action tomorrow when it hosts Adelphi University, ranked fourth in the region, at 1 p.m. Pace (13-6, 6-2 NE-10) visits Bentley University tomorrow at 1 p.m.
