|
|
Justine Thompson had six digs in the final set
to help the Skyhawks |
Skyhawks Take Down Yellow Jackets In Five
Easton, Mass. - The Skyhawks used great defense and timely hitting in the final set to take down AIC in five after dropping sets three and four to the conference's fourth ranked team on Saturday in Merkert Gymnasium.
In a match that has playoff implications the Skyhawks came out firing early, taking a 3-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets countered, going on a 14-6 run to take a 14-9 lead midway through the set.
A timeout by Stonehill seemed to halt the AIC momentum as the Skyhawks regained their composure and eventually tied it at 20 on an Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Aiz.) service ace.
The Skyhawks took three of the last five to clinch the set 25-23.
In the second set Stonehill got off to a slow start, as the teams traded points, reaching a 10-10 draw. Three straight attack errors by the Yellow Jackets gave the Skyhawks momentum as they outscored AIC 15-5 the rest of the way to take a 25-15 victory.
The third set saw the Skyhawks match AIC point for point early but fell off late as the Yellow Jackets wouldn't allow a sweep, using four late kills from Kambryn Williams to take the fourth set 25-21.
Stonehill came out sluggish in the fourth set, recording just four kills to five errors on their way to a 25-14 loss and evening the match at two sets apiece.
In the final set however, the Skyhawks refused to go down matching the Yellow Jackets point for point and getting six fifth set digs by Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H.).
The two teams drew even at 10 apiece before two Michelle Thornhill (Canyon Lake Calif.) kills gave the Skyhawks a lead. However, the lead wouldn't last at AIC tied it up at 12 and then again at 13.
The Skyhawks wouldn't be denied though as Katherine Masson (Acushnet, Mass.) fired home her tenth kill of the afternoon to give the Skyhawks a 14-13 lead over the Yellow Jackets.
AIC tried to counter but a failed attack attempt by freshman Ellisha Terry gave the Skyhawks the 15-13 win and 3-2 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
Terry had 16 kills and 11 digs, while Williams had 19 and 14 for an AIC squad that falls to 12-10 and 8-4 in NE-10 play.
Thornhill once again let the Skyhawks as she had a career high 20 kills to go along with seven digs. Wirth had 44 assists and 11 digs while libero Therese Mance (Milwaukee, Wis.) added 18 digs and three service aces.
Stonehill improves to 18-10 overall and 6-6 in NE-10 play.
The Skyhawks travel to face Assumption on Monday with game time set for 7:00 pm.