ASHEVILLE, N.C. (August 27, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team concluded their last day at the UNC Asheville Invitational with another doubleheader against Queens University (N.C.) and Morehead State. In Saturday's first match, the Skyhawks fell to the Royals, 3-0 (20-25, 25-27, and 20-25), and in the second contest, Morehead State topped Stonehill 3-0 (21-25, 16-25, 15-25). 

Queens University (N.C.) 3, Stonehill 0

(20-25, 25-27, 20-25)

In Saturday's opening match, Stonehill's freshmen duo of Mia Berardino and Delaney Mihelich each set new career highs in kills and assists. For Berardino, she led the squad with nine kills which topped her previous career high of five kills. Meanwhile, Mihelich led the team again in assists with 14 and has now notched 10 or more assists in each match so far this season. Jentry Allen and Lindsey Peirson also had strong performances as they each had seven kills and Kaitlyn Watson rounded out the top three with four kills. Molly Turner dished out 10 assists which marked the 31st time in her career of recording 10 or more assists. On the defensive side, Kristen DeLorenzo and Allen were the two Skyhawks who notched 10 or more digs with 13 and 12 respectively. 

Queens jumped out to an early seven-point lead in set one (9-2) but as the match went on, Stonehill cut the deficit to three (10-7) after a 5-1 run highlighted by three kills in a row from Berardino. Later in the set, Queens increased their lead to six (20-14) but the Skyhawks rallied again and trimmed the Royals lead to one (20-19) that featured another kill by Berardino and a service ace along with multiple Queens University miscues. From there, Queens ended up pulling away by ending the game on a 5-1 run for the set win. 

Set two was back and forth as there were 12 lead changes and 15 ties as neither side saw a lead larger than three. After Queens went up 5-2, Stonehill tied things back up at seven behind a 5-2 rally spearheaded by kills from Allen and Watson along with a service ace by Turner. Queens ended up going up 13-11 but the Skyhawks stormed back and reclaimed the lead (14-13) courtesy of two kills from Allen and one by Berardino. Both sides continued to battle throughout the set and tied at 21, Stonehill grabbed their largest lead (23-21) by taking advantage of attack and ball handling errors by the Royals. Queens chipped at the deficit and was down one (23-22) before the Skyhawks again had a two-point lead after a Peirson kill. The Royals fought back and took a 25-24 lead but after an Amanda Maier kill tied the match at 25, Queens recorded two straight points to take a hard-fought second set. 

In the final set, Stonehill and Queens went back and forth early on as the Skyhawks maintained an early 3-2 lead thanks to two kills from Allen and one from McCloskey. Both sides continued to battle and after Allen had another kill to knock the Queens lead down to 5-4, Queens went on their largest run in the afternoon with a 13-5 stretch that made it 18-9. But despite the large lead, the Skyhawks made a late push and cut the large deficit to just three (23-20) courtesy of an 11-3 run highlighted by three kills from Peirson, and one from both Allen and Watson along a big-time block by both Maier and McCloskey. However, Queens ended up holding on by grabbing two points at the end for the match victory. 

Morehead State 3, Stonehill 0

(21-25, 16-25, 15-25)

Stonehill's second match saw Allen tie a season-high in kills with 12 and overall on the season, she has now posted five or more kills in each match. Watson finished with a new career-high in kills with six and behind Watson were Berardino and Kristen Joyce with three apiece to round out the top three. Mihelich and Turner finished tied for first on the team with nine assists each and both so far this season have recorded five more helpers. Defensively, DeLorenzo finished with 10 digs which marked her third time in four matches with 10 or more digs. Allen followed behind with five digs herself and then Mihelich completed the top three with four. McCloskey swatted away two shots which tied her season-best and is her 14th career match having multiple blocks. 

Early in the first set, both sides were tied at three but Stonehill generated some space and went up by three (7-4) courtesy of kills by Allen and Watson along with a McCloskey service ace. McCloskey has now recorded at least one ace in two out of Stonehill's four matches this season. After the Eagles tied things back up at nine, Morehead State pulled away for their largest lead of eight (20-12) when they went on an 11-3 run. Morehead State would then find themselves at match point (24-17), but the Skyhawks made a late run with a 4-0 rally (24-21) highlighted by kills from Berardino and Peirson along with two Morehead State miscues. Despite the late push, the Eagles were able to escape Stonehill's momentum to take set one, 25-21. 

After finding themselves down 3-0 early in set two, the Skyhawks trimmed the deficit to one (4-3) courtesy of kills by Allen and Skylar Hanley. However, Morehead State pulled away after an 8-1 spurt for a 12-4 advantage. Stonehill continued to chip away in the second set after capitalizing on a Morehead State service error that made it 16-10. The Eagles ended up holding off any Stonehill rally though to secure set two. In the second set, Allen and Watson each led the Skyhawks with three kills while Hanley, Joyce, and Mihelich each contributed kills themselves.

Morehead State raced out to an early 6-2 lead but the Skyhawks quickly cut the lead to one (7-6) after a 4-1 spurt that featured three kills in a row by Allen and one by Hanley. Morehead State responded with a run of their own and pushed their lead to eight behind an 11-4 run which made it 18-10. Stonehill continued to try and pick away at the Eagles lead but Morehead State kept responding before ultimately securing the match win. The third set saw Allen once again lead the squad with four kills and not far behind was McCloskey and Joyce had two apiece. Berardino, Hanley, and Emma Graves also each chipped in a kill in the set.

Up Next

Stonehill continues their road trip when they head to Bryant University on Tuesday, August 30 for a 7 p.m. tilt. 

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