Senior Erin Johnson hit .419 with 14 kills and three block assists to help lead Stonehill past SNHU tonight. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Skyhawks take first two sets, but hold off Penmen for five-set victory

Stonehill cruised in the first two sets, enjoying a 76-percent (19-25) side out percentage and hitting .360, while Southern New Hampshire hit a combined .000 with a 36.7 (18-49) side out percentage in that time. The Skyhawks also racked up 11 blocks on the night, including six block assists from senior Anna Berthiaume (Somersworth, N.H./Somersworth) and four blocks (one solo) by classmate Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.H./Bishop Guertin), while also piling up 14 service aces – five from Berthiaume.

Freshman Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas/Hutto) led Stonehill with 15 kills, hitting .275, to go with 16 digs, three aces and three blocks (one solo). Senior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) hit a team-high .419 as she committed just one hitting error to go with 14 kills and three block assists. Junior Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) added 12 kills, a team-high 19 digs and two aces, while senior Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) dished out 31 assists and added ten digs. Sophomore Erin Kelly (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) also posted a double-double with 19 assists and 11 digs while chipping in with three aces.

Senior Anna Berthiaume posted six block assists and five service aces in the win (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Freshman Megan Lescynski (Pine Bush, N.Y./Pine Bush) led Southern New Hampshire with 15 kills and 11 digs, while senior Stephanie Dluginski (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) added 14 kills and four blocks (three solo). Sophomore Logan Lorenz (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) posted a double-double for the Penmen with 37 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Peyton Williams (Huntington Beach, Calif./Ocean View) chipped in with ten kills and nine digs.

With the score tied at 10-10 in the fifth set, Stonehill scored four-straight points on serve by Huselton to earn match point. Johnson, Huselton and Maxey all had kills during the run, while Berthiaume combined on a pair of Skyhawk blocks with Johnson and Maxey to close out the win. Stonehill erased an early 3-1 deficit in the set with three-straight points, including back-to-back aces by Berthiaume.

Stonehill never trailed in the opening two sets with SNHU taking its first set lead of the night at 7-6 in the third during a 4-0 run on serve for Lorenz. Still, the Skyhawks held a 20-16 advantage in the set after a Penmen attack error before the visitors rallied. A 7-2 SNHU rally turned a three-point deficit (23-20) into its first set point (26-25) after a Stonehill hitting error. The lead see-sawed until a Skyhawks hitting error and Williams kill closed out the set and kept the Penmen alive.

SNHU took control of the fourth set with four-straight point on serve for freshman Ashlee Daoust (Brookline, N.H./Hollis-Brookline) to take a 19-15 lead after a kill from Dluginski. Stonehill tried to rally late with the Penmen on set point at 24-20, scoring three straight points aided by a pair of SNHU errors to draw within a point (24-23), but Williams closed out that set with a kill.

Stonehill (13-12, 9-4 NE-10), who moved into a tie for third place in the NE-10 standings with tonight's win, is back in action on Friday when it hosts Le Moyne College for a key Conference matchup at 7 p.m. SNHU (10-12, 6-7 NE-10) hosts Pace University on Friday at 7 p.m.