Senior Meaghan Lee recorded nine kills and three block assists in Stonehill's 3-0 sweep of Assumption tonight. |
Skyhawks win tenth straight against Greyhounds, improve to 6-1 in NE-10 play
EASTON, Mass. (October 17, 2014) – Stonehill College used a balanced all-around effort to earn a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19) sweep over Assumption College this evening in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at Merkert Gymnasium.
Nine different Skyhawks recorded kills and all 12 that played posted digs, as Stonehill improved to 6-0 at home and 6-1 in NE-10 play this season. The Skyhawks hit .143 as a team, while Assumption registered a .070 attack percentage.
Senior setter Emily Iverson (Elmhurst, Illinois/York) engineered the balanced offensive performance with 33 assists, and classmate Meaghan Lee (Hanover, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) hit .261 with a team-high nine kills.
Senior middle blocker Mary-Kate Catton (San Diego, California/Academy of Our Lady of Peace) hit .286 with six kills, two digs, and two block assists while junior outside hitter Delia Phillips (St. James, New York/Smithtown East) and freshmen Katherine DeLanty (Smithtown, New York/Smithtown West) and Ashley Hitchcock (Warrenville, Illinois/Benet Academy) registered five kills each.
Sophomore libero Taylor Stevens (Foster, Rhode Island/Ponaganset) keyed the defensive effort with a team-best 14 digs, while classmate Abby Harte (Dover, New Hampshire/Dover) had eight and Iverson, Phillips, and Hitchcock posted seven each.
Sophomore Taylor Stevens led the defensive effort with a team-high 14 digs. |
Assumption was led by freshman outside hitter Stephanie Hawley (Savannah, Georgia/St. Vincent's Academy), who recorded ten digs, nine kills, and two block assists. Senior middle blocker Ann Donahue (Braintree, Massachusetts/Braintree) collected seven kills and six blocks (two solo), while junior libero Courtney Bagwell (Diamond Bar, California/Diamond Bar) led all players with 16 digs.
The Skyhawks got out to a 1-0 lead with a dominant 25-14 win in the opening frame, aided by four kills from Lee and Assumption's -.031 attack clip. After taking a 9-7 lead, Stonehill posted four separate three-point runs, eventually winning the set on consecutive Assumption attack errors.
Stonehill got off to another good start in the second stanza, taking an 8-2 lead before the Greyhounds fought back to make it 9-6. Assumption eventually got as close as one, at 15-14, but the Skyhawks pushed their lead back to five with a four point run. The Greyhounds kept it close and cut Stonehill's lead to two (24-22) late in the set, but the Skyhawks closed it out with a kill by Phillips to go up 2-0 in the match.
Unlike the first two frames, Assumption led in the early part of the third set, before Stonehill evened the score at nine. The set would see six ties after that point, including 18-18, before the Skyhawks turned in a crucial six-point run to take a 24-18 lead. The Greyhounds would get one more point on an attack error by Iverson, but Stonehill ended the match on the next play on a kill by freshman outside hitter Marykay Nasby (Belle Plaine, Minnesota/Belle Plaine).
With tonight's victory, Stonehill extends its winning streak against Assumption to ten dating back to the 2008 season. Of those ten victories, seven have been 3-0 sweeps, including a pair of three-set victories during the 2009 campaign. The Skyhawks' last loss to their conference rival came exactly seven years ago to the day, when the Greyhounds posted a 3-2 victory at Merkert Gym on October 17, 2007.
Following this evening's contest, both Stonehill (15-4, 6-1 NE-10) and Assumption (5-10, 3-5 NE-10) will be right back in action tomorrow. The Skyhawks are set to hit the road to take on Southern Connecticut State University at 4:30 p.m., while the Greyhounds will return home to host Franklin Pierce University at 1 p.m.
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