Skyhawks play on Friday in their ninth NE10 Semifinal match in program history
DeLanty leads the team in hitting percentage, aces, and blocks per set |
NE10 Volleyball Tournament Release
NE10 Volleyball Quarterfinal Release
EASTON, Mass. (November 16, 2017) – The fifth-seeded Stonehill College volleyball team will enter the Northeast-10 Conference volleyball semifinal match tomorrow night for the first time since 2014. The Skyhawks will head to top-seeded New Haven University for the first semifinal match of the night starting at 5:00 p.m. in West Haven, Connecticut in Charger Gymnasium.
Admission for tomorrow night's contest is $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and children and $1 for students with a valid ID from an NE10 school. For those that cannot make it to West Haven, Connecticut, live stats and a live stream of the match will both be available via www.stonehillskyhawks.com. Also, for those that have the newest generation of AppleTV, Amazon Firestick, Roku and Android TV, the game will be streamed on the New Haven Chargers App on those devices.
The winner will advance to the championship match to take on the winner of the No. 7 Southern Connecticut State University vs. No. 6 Saint Anselm College matchup on Saturday, November 17 at 5:00 p.m. in Charger Gymnasium.
The Skyhawks (12-14, 8-6 NE10) finished the regular season in a four-way tie between Saint Anselm College, Southern Connecticut State University, and Pace University, earning the fifth seed, based on a 2-1 record in the mini conference and a head-to-head win versus the Hawks.
Stonehill defeated fourth-seeded Adelphi University, 3-1, on Tuesday night to reach semifinal play. In the match against the Panthers, three Skyhawks led the offensive attack including, Ashley Hitchcock (Warrenville, Illinois/Benet Academy) with a career-and match-high 19 kills, Katherine DeLanty (Smithtown, New York/Smithtown West) with 15, and Allyson Hughes (Modesto, California/Big Valley Christian) adding in 12 kills. DeLanty also recorded her eighth career double-double adding in 16 digs, while Hitchcock notched her ninth double-double tallying 12 digs. Freshman setter Jessica Givens (Albuquerque, New Mexico/ St. Pius X) chipped in 49 assists in the night, as Claire Manuszak (Indianapolis, Indianapolis/Bishop Chatard) registered her 15th-straight match with double-digit digs, tallying 26 against the Chargers.
In the history of the Skyhawks, the team has made the quarterfinal round of the tournament now 11 times, while continuing on to the semifinal round now nine times and never making it to the championship match. The last time Stonehill made the playoffs, Bentley University defeated the Skyhawks 3-0 in 2014. Stonehill has battled New Haven in two semifinal matches over the playoff history including in 2010 and 2008, both falling to the Chargers 3-0.
Stonehill enters post-season play led by senior captains DeLanty ranked number fifth in the NE10 with a 0.92 blocking percentage and earning NE10 Co-Player of the Week honors once this season and Marykay Nasby (Belle Plaine, Minnesota/Belle Plaine) who has notched 105 kills during the regular season with an average of 1.27 kills per set. DeLanty has been an all-around player for the Skyhawks as she is ranked first in hitting percentage (.252), aces (0.26), and blocks per set (0.90), second on the team in kills per set (3.02), fifth in digs per set (1.62). Nasby has also totaled a career-best 21 aces this season and 25 total blocks.
Givens ranks second in the NE10 in assists per set has averaged 10.09 in her first year in the Purple and White, as she also tallied Rookie of the Week honors once this season, has also been a key component to this season's success. Manuszak also secured a spot on the NE10 leaderboard ranking fifth in digs per set, with an average of 4.75 and an impressive 437 digs total, registering a career high. The libero also became the all-time leader in digs this season as she broke Sydney Maxey's 1451 digs total, with her 1570 total.
Junior outside hitter Hughes is ranked eighth in the NE10 in kills per set averaging a career-high 3.07, while she leads the team right now. Senior Hitchcock with 140 kills this season, has averaged 2.15 kills per set and 2.46 digs per set following Manuszak. Junior Megan Pennino (Wantagh, New York/Wantagh) joins the rest of the lineup, adding an impressive 0.6 blocks per set and 12 solo blocks this season.
Hughes leads the team with a career-high 3.07 kills per set this season |
In their recent regular season matchup against the top seeded and regular season champions New Haven University the Skyhawks fell to the Chargers, 0-3, seeing set scores of 19-25, 14-25, and 12-25. Hughes led the team with nine kills, while Manuszak tallied 15 digs. New Haven held Stonehill to a .019 hitting percentage, while the Chargers averaged a .327 hitting clip. The Chargers' Caroline Martins was the only player to hit double-digit kills with 13 on the night.
As a team, the Skyhawks are fifth in blocks per set (1.75), seventh in kills per set (11.83), hitting percentage (.172), assists per set (11.09), 12th in digs per set (14.91), and 13th in aces per set (1.35).
New Haven (21-7, 14-0 NE10) entered NE10 postseason as the regular season champion with an undefeated conference record. The Chargers have won five NE10 Tournament titles, with seven semifinal appearances and six finals presences. Last year, in the 2016 NE10 championship, New Haven defeated Adelphi University, 3-1, after challenging American International College, 3-2, in the semifinal match and then sliding past Franklin Pierce University, 3-1, in the quarterfinal match. New Haven will face Stonehill coming off of a 3-2 quarterfinal victory against eighth-seeded Pace University on Tuesday night.
For the Chargers, Caroline Martins leads the team averaging 3.21 kills per set, ranking seventh in the NE10 leaderboards, as Alex Bussey has averaged a .258 hitting percentage over the season and is ninth overall. Ranked 10th in the NE10, Lindsey Kim has averaged 4.40 digs per set, while Lexi Peterson has tallied 0.72 blocks per set over the undefeated season. Kristine Rios leads the team in assists per set, notching 7.11 per set, while Angela Chan ranks first for New Haven and ninth in the NE10 in aces per set with 0.36 a set.
As a team, the Chargers are second in hitting percentage (.205), fourth in kills per set (12.55), assists per set (11.80), digs per set (18.13), eighth in aces per set (1.57), and 10th in blocks per set (1.38).
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
Northeast-10 Championship Volleyball Schedule
Tuesday, November 14th
Quarterfinals at Higher Seeds
Match 1: #8 Pace at #1 New Haven (7:00 pm)
Match 2: #7 Southern Connecticut at #2 American International (7:00 pm)
Match 3: #6 Saint Anselm at #3 Bentley (7:00 pm)
Match 4: #5 Stonehill at #4 Adelphi (7:00 PM)
Friday, November 17th
Semifinals - at New Haven
Match 5: #1 New Haven vs. No. 5 Stonehill (5:00 pm)
Match 6: #7 Southern Connecticut vs. Saint Anselm (7:30 pm)
Saturday, November 18th
Championship at New Haven
Match 7: Match 5 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner (5:00 pm)
*Semifinals/Final – at West Haven, Conn. (Chargers Gymnasium)
