NE10 Quarterfinal Preview: No. 3 Volleyball To Host No. 6 Le Moyne

Skyhawks play on Tuesday in their 10th NE10 Quarterfinal match in program history

NE10 Volleyball Championship Release


Poveda leads the team in kills per set and aces per set (PHOTO BY: Andrew Katsampes)

EASTON, Mass. (November 18, 2019) – As a third seed, Stonehill College volleyball will enter the Northeast-10 Conference Volleyball Tournament tomorrow, night for the first time since 2017. The Skyhawks will host the sixth-seeded Le Moyne College Dolphins for a 7:00 p.m. quarterfinal matchup at Merkert 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 Easton, Massachusetts, live stats and a broadcast 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 NE10 Now app on those devices.

The winner will advance to the semifinal round to take on the winner of the No. 7 Franklin Pierce University vs. No. 2 American International matchup on Friday, November 22nd at the highest remaining seed for the two semifinal games and championship game.

The Skyhawks (16-9, 9-4 NE10) finished the regular season in a three-way tie between Saint Anselm College and New Haven University earning the third seed, based on the team's record against the No. 6 Le Moyne College Dolphins, following a four-way tie breaker. This is the highest seed that Stonehill has earned since the 2014 season when Stonehill sat second. In quarterfinal play, Stonehill is 6-2 in program history, not including the years that the Conference played in pool play prior to the semifinal rounds.

This season Stonehill went on a five-game win streak, including wins over Saint Anselm College, Le Moyne College, the College of Saint Rose, Saint Michael's College and Pace University. This is also the most winningest season since 2014 when the team went 21-8 overall and 11-3 in NE10 play, and went on to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Currently the Skyhawks are No. 9 in the NCAA Division II East Region Poll.

Stonehill enters postseason play led by senior captain Rachel Dunlavy and junior captain Sophia Poveda. Dunlavy is ranked first on the team with 4.60 digs per set and sixth in the NE10, while Poveda leads the team in kills per set with 2.82 and seventh in the NE10. Poveda also leads the team in aces per set with 0.36. Sophomore Lauren Wilke leads the team with 8.28 assists per set, followed by junior Jessica Givens with 5.71 and freshman Molly Turner with 4.46.


Dunlavy leads the team with 4.60 digs per set and is sixth in the NE10 (PHOTO BY: SportsPix)

Sophomore Abby Remick and freshmen Basia Peragine and Amanda Maier have also contributed to the Skyhawks' success. Remick is second on the team with 2.56 kills per set and fifth on the team with 0.26 blocks per set. Peragine averages 2.15 kills per set, while Maier is fourth with 2.04 kills per set. Sophomore Clare Feeman leads the team with 0.76 blocks per set as she is also fifth on the team with 2.02 kills per set.

As a team, Stonehill is second in kills per set (12.46) and assists per set (11.64), eighth in hitting percentage (.173) and aces per set (1.78) and blocks per set (1.47), and 11th in digs per set (15.34).

Le Moyne (14-12, 7-6 NE10) is entering the NE10 Quarterfinal match following a 3-1 win over the College of Saint Rose. The Dolphins last appeared in the NE10 Tournament in 2016, when they lost to Pace University, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round, but received the program's first NCAA Tournament bid, earning the fifth seed.

Mary Talty leads the team this season with 2.96 kills per set, ranking sixth in the NE10, while Lexi Petraitis leads the team with a .229 hitting percentage and is ranked 22nd in the Conference. Meaghan Murphy is third in the Conference averaging 0.45 aces per set, while Emily Yancone is seventh with 8.15 assists per set.

As a team, the Dolphins are seventh in hitting percentage (.173) and aces per set (1.83) and digs per set (15.57), eighth in blocks per set (1.43), and ninth in kills per set (11.45) and assists per set (10.69).

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on TwitterFacebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.