Skyhawks notch second-highest win total in program history
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Emily Iverson dishes out 40 assists |
EASTON, Mass. (October 25, 2011) – The Stonehill College women's volleyball team defeated Bentley University in three-straight sets, 3-0, by scores of 25-16, 25-20 and 25-18 in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) action on Tuesday night at Merkert Gymnasium.
Stonehill improves to 24-3 overall (12-0 NE-10) surpassing the second-highest win total in program history when it was 23-8 in 1997. The Skyhawks have four regular season matches, plus postseason, to break the program's single-season wins record set in 1996 (27-8). The Skyhawks also established a new record for conference wins breaking the previous mark of 11 NE-10 wins set last season (11-4). Stonehill has now won 15-straight NE-10 regular season matches dating back to its 3-1 loss against New Haven on October 30, 2010.
Sophomore Kirsten Arvidson (Andover, Mass./Andover) led all players with 12 kills on the night for a .476 hitting percentage (12-2-21) to go along with one block assist. Senior Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) added eight kills and a team-leading 11 digs.
NE-10 Rookie and Setter of the Week Emily Iverson (Elmhurst, Ill./York), who has now won both awards two weeks in a row, dished out a match-high 40 assists to become the first player ever to record 1,000 assists in a season for Stonehill. Iverson only needed three assists total as she entered the match at 997 on the season.
Sophomores Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas/Hutto) and Rachel Sperando (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) combined for 17 kills – nine by Sperando – to round out the Skyhawks attack.
For Bentley, freshman middle blocker Savannah Dominguez (Miami, Fla./Palmer-Trinity) led the Falcons in kills with eight and junior middle blocker Grace Conner (Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) contributed seven kills. Freshman setter Alex Tator (Los Angeles, Calif./Marlborough School) recorded 25 assists, six digs and three kills while freshman libero Lauren Colasanti (Northville, Mich./Northville) led all players in digs with 16.
Tied 10-10 in set one, Stonehill went on a 12-5 run taking advantage of eight attacking errors by the Falcons and two Maxey kills during that span to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In set two, the Skyhawks went on the offensive compiling a set-high 20 kills for a .349 hitting percentage led by Maxey and Sperando who both tallied four kills apiece. Arvidson, Huselton and freshman middle blocker Meaghan Lee (Hanover, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) chipped in with three kills each.
Set three featured Stonehill's most efficient offense on the night as the Skyhawks posted a .393 hitting percentage. Arvidson led the way with a set-high five kills while Huselton and Sperando combined for eight (four apiece) with all three players notching every kill but one in the set.
Stonehill travels to the University of New Haven on Saturday, October 29 in a pivotal NE-10 matchup at noon. The Skyhawks and Chargers are currently tied for first place in the conference with an identical 12-0 NE-10 record. Stonehill will also play Shippensburg in non-conference action at 2:30 p.m. at New Haven. Bentley (11-13, 6-6 NE-10) travels to American International College on Friday, October 28 at 7 p.m.
- www.stonehillskyhawks.com -
