Senior outside hitter Kelsey Weymouth recorded 16 kills and 21 digs in Stonehill's two matches today.

Head coach Kathleen Colpoys earns first career victory against Mercy

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (September 5, 2015) – The Stonehill College volleyball team opened its 2015 campaign today with a split in two matches at the GCU Lions Invitational, hosted by Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey. Stonehill defeated Mercy College, 3-0 (25-16, 29-27, 26-24), in today's opener, earning head coach Kathleen Colpoys her first career victory, before falling to Caldwell University 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 25-19, 15-9).

Stonehill 3, Mercy 0

Sophomore middle blocker Katherine DeLanty (Smithtown, New York/Smithtown West) led a balanced offense effort for Stonehill against Mercy, hitting a match-high .467 with eight kills. Classmate Ashley Hitchcock (Warrenville, Illinois/Benet Academy) added seven kills to go with ten digs, and senior outside hitter Kelsey Weymouth (North Attleboro, Massachusetts/North Attleboro) chipped in with six kills, six digs and two service aces.

Sophomore libero Claire Manuszak (Indianapolis, Indiana/Bishop Chatard) led all players with 19 digs, while juniors Taylor Stevens (Foster, Rhode Island/Ponaganset) and Abby Harte (Dover, New Hampshire/Dover) split setting duties, combining for 28 assists.

Stonehill cruised to a 25-16 win in the opening set, before closing out the match with a pair of tight, two-point wins in sets two and three.

The Mavericks were led by freshman outside hitter Peyton Olson (Albany, Oregon/West Albany), who recorded a match-high 12 kills. Junior libero Floriana Rraci (Cortlandt Manor, New York/Walter Panas) paced Mercy defensively with 13 digs, while junior setter Michelle Luna (Costa Mesa, California/Costa Mesa) dished out 13 assists.

Caldwell 3, Stonehill 2

In the second match of the day, the Skyhawks dropped a back-and-forth, five-set contest to Caldwell. The Cougars claimed a 25-20 win in the opening set, but Stonehill answered by taking the next two frames by scores of 25-20 and 25-21. Caldwell evened the match at 2-2 with a 25-19 win in the fourth set, before taking the decisive fifth frame by a score of 15-9.

Weymouth recorded Stonehill's first double-double of the season with ten kills and 15 digs, while Manuszak and Hitchcock recorded 25 and 19 digs, respectively. Stevens and Harte again split setting duties, this time combining for 27 assists. DeLanty and classmate Marykay Nasby (Belle Plaine, Minnesota/Belle Plaine) contributed six kills each, and senior outside hitter Delia Phillips (St. James, New York/Smithtown East) added five.

Caldwell was led by freshman outside hitter Kristin Murrell (Toldeo, Ohio/Central Catholic) and sophomore outside hitter Taryn Auyong (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha), who each recorded double-doubles. Murrell tallied 12 kills and ten digs, while Auyong registered 11 kills and 13 digs. Sophomore libero Jessica Mitchell (Plainfield, Illinois/Neuqua Valley) was among four Cougars with 10+ digs with her team-high 14, and sophomore setter Gabrielle Bennett (San Antonio, Texas/Johnson) led all players with 21 assists.

Stonehill (1-1, 0-0 NE-10) will be right back in action tomorrow with two more matches at the GCU Lions Invitational. The Skyhawks are scheduled to take on host Georgian Court at 10 a.m., before wrapping up their trip in New Jersey with a match against Roberts Wesleyan College at noon.

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