EASTON, MASS. (October 6, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball continued their five-game homestand Thursday evening when the squad hosted University at Albany for a non-conference matchup but unfortunately fell, 3-0 (12-25, 18-25, 14-25) at Merkert Gymnasium.

Mia Berardino was one of seven Skyhawks with multiple kills as she led the purple and white with five kills in the match. It is her fifth straight match with five or more kills and she has posted five or more kills in all but five matches this year. Delaney Mihelich dished out a team-high 11 assists and she has now passed the 10-assist mark in her last eight contests and has done so 12 other times this year. Defensively, Kristen DeLorenzo finished with 10 digs and she has posted 10 or more digs in four of her last five outings and has finished with 10 or more digs in nine matches. 

After tying the match at one from a Berardino kill, the Great Danes went on a 6-0 run before Stonehill called for a timeout to halt UAlbany's offense. After the timeout, the Great Danes continued their offensive explosion as they posted their first double-digit lead (16-6) behind a 9-5 push. The Skyhawks would cut it to eight (16-8) after capitalizing on attack errors from UAlbany. Despite cutting into the deficit, the Great Danes finished off the first set with a 9-4 offensive burst to take the opening set, 25-12. Kaitlyn Watson led the offense in the first set with three kills and three other Skyhawks posted multiple kills in the opening frame (Berardino-two, Jentry Allen-2, Amanda Maier-2). 

Set number two saw UAlbany's offense continue where they left off as the Great Danes jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. However, Stonehill responded and trimmed it to one (7-6) highlighted by a Bianca Fitch ace. Both sides continued to go back and forth and after UAlbany found themselves up 11-7, the Skyhawks utilized a 4-0 rally and evened the frame at 11. Lauren McCloskey was all over the floor during Stonehill's push as she had two kills and assisted on a block. Despite the momentum from the Skyhawks, the Great Danes gave themselves some breathing room with a 6-0 burst (17-11) before a Stonehill timeout. After the timeout, UAlbany continued to push away from Stonehill going up seven (21-14) late in the set. The Skyhawks again battled and trimmed the deficit to four (22-18) highlighted by kills from Kristen Joyce and Berardino. Molly Turner also chipped in a service ace and Lindsey Peirson and Watson also assisted on a block to help the purple and white try to climb back in. However, the Great Danes finished off set two with a 3-0 run and won the second, 25-18. 

UAlbany continued their offensive burst in the third frame when the Great Danes grabbed a quick 10-3 lead before Stonehill called timeout. As the third set went on, Stonehill found itself down seven (14-7) after a service ace from Watson. The Great Danes though grabbed their first double-digit lead of the set (18-8) after a 4-1 run. The Skyhawks continued to pick away at the deficit and brought the lead back to single digits (18-10) after a Peirson kill and UAlbany service ace. Despite cutting it to eight, UAlbany wrapped up the final set with a 7-4 push and swept by a score of 25-14. In the last frame, Peirson led the offense with two kills and Turner guided the offense with three assists. 

Up Next

Stonehill starts their weekend with a Northeast Conference home match against Long Island University on Friday, October 7 at 5 p.m.

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