Stonehill improves to 6-0 overall at Merkert Gymnasium
EASTON, Mass. (October 11, 2011) – The Stonehill College women's volleyball team remained unblemished at home and also in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) play on Tuesday night defeating American International College (AIC), 3-2, by scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-15, 20-25 and 15-12 on Purple-Out Merkert Gymnasium Night.
Stonehill was led by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas/Hutto) who notched her 12th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 21 digs, both team-highs. Classmate and right-side hitter Kirsten Arvidson (Andover, Mass./Andover) notched 10 kills and two block assists while Vivian Fitzgerald (Winfield, Ill./Aurora Central Catholic) added 12 kills, two digs and two block assists.
Freshman setter and NE-10 Rookie of the Week, Emily Iverson (Elmhurst, Ill./York), streamlined the offense with a match-high 56 assists and 12 digs. Junior libero Erin Kelly (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) contributed 20 digs on the defensive end while senior outside hitter Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) and sophomore defensive specialist Jessica Frankowski (Unionville, Conn./Farmington) had 18 and 16 digs, respectively.
For AIC, sophomore middle-blocker Blair Havron (Pukalani, Hawaii/King Kekaulike) led all players in kills with 19 (.319 hitting percentage), one dig and four block assists. Senior outside hitter Ellisha Terry (Fort Worth, Texas/Everman Joe C. Bean) dished out 25 assists, 11 digs and two block assists. Junior libero Seferina Starks (Lakewood, Calif./Lancaster) tallied a match-high 26 digs while teammate Caitlin Connelly (Holbrook, N.Y./St. Anthony's) added 24 digs, four kills, three service aces and one block assist.
In a match that saw 28 ties and 15 lead changes total, the fifth set of the match rendered nine ties and five lead changes alone.
Down 11-10 in the fifth set, Stonehill responded quickly off an ensuing timeout as freshman middle-blocker Mary-Kate Catton (San Diego, Calif./Academy of Our Lady of Peace) delivered on an Iverson set to even the score at 11-11. Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Sperando (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) gave the Skyhawks a 12-11 advantage on the next series deflecting a Havron attack back over the net directly on the sideline to push the gap to 13-11 in favor of Stonehill.
AIC immediately called a timeout to stave off any further momentum but Arvidson struck home her 10th and final kill of the night on an Iverson assist to make it 14-11. After a service error by Kelly, Iverson received a dig from Maxey and fed freshman middle-blocker Meaghan Lee (Hanover, Mas./Notre Dame Academy) for her fifth kill ending the match.
Stonehill (18-3, 6-0 NE-10) travels to the College of Saint Rose on Saturday, October 15 in NE-10 action at 1 p.m. AIC (8-11, 5-3 NE-10) heads to Bridgeport on Friday, October 14 in non-conference action starting at 6 p.m.
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