Tonight's win marked the 100th of head coach Lauren Amundson's Stonehill career. Amundson is 100-63 (.613) in six seasons at the helm. |
Skyhawks improve to 4-0 in NE-10 play as head coach Lauren Amundson wins 100th career game
EASTON, Mass. (September 30, 2014) – Junior outside hitter Delia Phillips (St. James, New York/Smithtown East) hit .386 with a match-high 22 kills and 15 digs to lead Stonehill College to a 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 24-26, 25-17) victory over visiting Southern New Hampshire University this evening in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at Merkert Gymnasium.
Phillips accounted for more than a third of Stonehill's 61 kills, and her three service aces also led all players in the match. The junior has now registered 20+ kills and 15+ digs in consecutive contests, as she matched a career-high with 24 kills to go with 15 digs in Stonehill's 3-1 win over Saint Michael's College on Saturday.
Tonight's win also marks the 100th career victory for Stonehill head coach Lauren Amundson. Now in her sixth season with the Skyhawks, Amundson is 100-63, good for a .613 winning percentage.
Senior setter Emily Iverson (Elmhurst, Illinois/York), who was named the NE-10 Setter of the Week earlier today for the second time this season and the eighth time in her career, racked up 52 assists along with eight digs, four kills, and two block assists. Iverson has eclipsed the 50+ assist mark for the second straight match and the third time this season, and she is now just 38 assists shy of matching the all-time program record of 3703, set by Andrea Wirth, '11.
Junior Delia Phillips again led Stonehill offensively, as she hit .386 with a match-high 22 kills against the Penmen. |
Junior outside hitter Kelsey Weymouth (North Attleboro, Massachusetts/North Attleboro) turned in a .368 attack percentage with nine kills and six digs, while senior middle blocker Meaghan Lee (Hanover, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) hit .292 with ten kills. Classmate Mary-Kate Catton (San Diego, California/Academy of Our Lady of Peace) chipped in with nine kills and four digs.
Defensively, freshman Claire Manuszak (Indianapolis, Indiana/Bishop Chatard) and sophomore Taylor Stevens (Foster, Rhode Island/Ponaganset) registered 11 and ten kills, respectively.
Southern New Hampshire was led by junior middle hitter Emma Houlihan (Shoreham, New York/Shoreham-Wading River), who hit a match-high .474 with 12 kills, two blocks, and two assists.
Junior libero Maeghan Higgins (Hesperia, California/Hesperia) led all players with 22 digs, while junior outside hitter Nina McGouldrick (Richardson, Texas/Richardson) posted a double-double with ten kills and ten digs.
Stonehill captured the back and forth opening set, 26-24, before using a seven point run midway through the second frame to turn a 17-13 deficit into a 20-17 advantage. Leading 24-23, a kill by Phillips ended the frame and staked the Skyhawks to a two-set lead.
Southern New Hampshire fired back in the third frame, staying alive with a .256 attack percentage, its highest of the night. Another tight set saw ties of 23-23 and 24-24, but the Penmen rallied to force a fourth stanza on consecutive kills by Houlihan.
The Skyhawks started off strong in the fourth set, winning the first four points and eventually holding a 10-6 lead. The Penmen cut the gap to three, at 11-8, before Stonehill slammed the door on Southern New Hampshire's comeback hopes with a six-point run to go up 17-8, eventually winning the set 25-17.
Stonehill (11-3, 4-0 NE-10) will be back in action on Friday night at home against the University of Bridgeport, before wrapping up its five-match homestand on Saturday morning when the New York Institute of Technology visits Merkert Gym. Southern New Hampshire (10-5, 2-1 NE-10) is off for a week, before returning home to host Franklin Pierce University next Tuesday night.
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