NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (November 11, 2023) – The Stonehill College women's volleyball team concluded its 2023 season with a Northeast Conference win at Central Connecticut State from the Detrick Gymnasium Saturday night in five sets.
Stonehill (3-29, 3-11 NEC): 3
CCSU (6-20, 5-9 NEC): 2
(26-24, 22-25, 25-19, 13-25, 15-9)
Skyhawk Summary
Junior Emma Graves (Berkshire, N.Y./Newark Valley) led the way in the Skyhawks win, recording a match-high 14 kills with three block assists and three digs. Senior Lauren McCloskey (Salem, N.H./Salem) had 11 kills on a .667 kill percentage, a career-high six block assists, four digs, two service aces, and two assists for a match-high 16 points. Freshman Lauren MacKellar (Northville, Mich./Northville) also hit double-digit kills, recording 10 and tallying five digs and three block assists. Freshman Amaya Parnell (Pepperell, Mass./Lincoln Sudbury) matched her career-high with 27 assists with five digs and a service ace. Sophomore Delaney Mihelich (Fullerton, Calif./Rosary Academy) tallied 19 assists and a career-high six service aces with five digs. Senior Skylar Hanley (Griswold, Conn./Loomis Chaffee) led Stonehill with 12 digs and had two service aces and two assists.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The first set was a back-and-forth affair as there were seven ties with a 14-14 score, Graves and MacKellar each had a pair of kills in the early stages. Neither team could take more than a two-point lead and the Blue Devils were ahead 23-21 before five of the final eight points in the first set went to the Skyhawks as they won the first set 26-24.
SET 2 | CCSU scored the first four points of the second set and eight of the first 10 points to build an 8-2 lead. Stonehill rallied for the next four points and eventually took an 11-10 lead after a 9-2 run. The Skyhawks held the lead until late in the second set when the Blue Devils scored four straight points, leading 23-20 as they closed out the set with a 25-22 win to tie the match at 1-1.
SET 3 | Stonehill scored nine straight points early in the third set with MacKellar and McCloskey each recording two kills as the Skyhawks led by double digits, 15-5. CCSU came storming back into the set with the next three points until they came within five of Stonehill, trailing only 21-16. Five points was the closest the Blue Devils would get as the Skyhawks won the third set 25-19.
SET 4 | CCSU jumped out to a 7-3 lead and never trailed in the fourth set. By the 25th point for the Blue Devils, they built their largest lead of the match at 12 points, winning 25-13 leading to a deciding fifth set.
SET 5 | In the fifth and final set, Stonehill claimed the first lead with the opening point as sophomore Mia Berardino (Rowley, Mass./Triton Regional) recorded two kills to give the Skyhawks a 5-2 lead. CCSU closed the gap at 5-4, 8-7, and 10-9 each time Stonehill tried to extend their advantage. The Skyhawks scored the final five points of the match as MacKellar notched her tenth kill for the final point, winning 15-9.
Up Next
Stonehill volleyball returns to action in 2024! Thanks to our fans for all of the support throughout this season!
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