EASTON, Mass. (November 4, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball took on Central Connecticut for the second time this season in Northeast Conference action but fell 3-0 (22-25, 24-26, 21-25) Friday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium. 

Mia Berardino and Lauren McCloskey led the squad with 11 and 10 kills respectively. For Berardino and McCloskey, it is both their fifth match with at least 10 kills. Not far behind was Emma Graves with nine kills and ever since coming back from injury, Graves has posted five or more kills in seven of her eight matches. Molly Turner and Delaney Mihelich each had 18 assists Friday afternoon. For Turner, she now has 985 assists for her career and just needs 15 assists tomorrow to reach the 1,000 assists plateau. Defensively, Kristen DeLorenzo again led the squad with 17 digs and McCloskey finished with a team-high three solo blocks.

In the opening set, both sides went back and forth and the Skyhawks found themselves up three (11-8) in the early moments spearheaded by Graves' two kills. However, the Blue Devils quickly evened the set at 12 and from there, Central Connecticut gave themselves some breathing room with a 7-0 run (19-12) before Stonehill had to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Skyhawks stormed back and were down two (23-21) thanks to a 9-4 rally led by three kills from Berardino. However, the Blue Devils held off any Stonehill momentum and closed the opening set by a score of 25-22.

Despite not taking the opening set, Stonehill did not let their momentum fade as the Skyhawks raced out to a seven-point lead (11-4) behind two service aces from Turner and kills by Kaitlyn Watson and McCloskey. Central Connecticut pulled back within three (11-7) but despite the push from the Blue Devils, the Purple and White utilized an 8-5 run and regained a seven-point lead (19-12) thanks to three kills from Graves. However, the Blue Devils offense surged to tie the match at 20 thanks to an 8-1 burst. Both sides would go back and forth before Stonehill found themselves up two (24-22) after another Graves kill. Central Connecticut responded and took the second set, 26-24.

Both sides went back and forth in the final set as neither squad saw a lead larger than three. After a Berardino kill put the Skyhawks up 8-7, Stonehill generated some breathing room going up, 13-10 behind kills from Berardino, Jentry Allen, Graves, and McCloskey. Central Connecticut tried to pick away at the Stonehill lead but the Skyhawks continued to maintain their three-point lead after going up 18-15 from a Berardino kill. Despite the lead, the Blue Devils rallied and tied the match at 18 which led to a Stonehill timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Central Connecticut continued where it left off and went on a 4-0 run and increased its lead to 23-19 which led to another Skyhawks timeout. The Skyhawks pulled within two (23-21) after a bloc and kill from McCloskey but the Blue Devils secured the sweep when they took the next two points for a 25-21 win. 

Up Next

Stonehill honors its three seniors (Kristen Joyce, Amanda Maier, and Turner) tomorrow for senior day when the squad takes on Sacred Heart University at 5 p.m.

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