ASHEVILLE, N.C. (August 26, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team opened up their inaugural Division I season with a doubleheader at the UNC Asheville Invitational against the host, UNC Asheville, and the University of North Alabama. In the first matchup, the Skyhawks fell to the Bulldogs, 3-0 (21-25, 23-25. 21-25) and was defeated by the University of North Alabama, 3-0 (13-25, 9-25, 14-25).

UNC Asheville 3, Stonehill 0

(25-21, 23-25, 21-25)

Jentry Allen and Lauren McCloskey (11) were the two Skyhawks who tallied double-digit kills in game one Friday morning with Emma Graves, Mia Berardino, and Kaitlyn Watson each finishing with five apiece. Molly Turner notched the 12th 20-plus assist game of her career finishing with 20 on the day. In her collegiate debut, Delaney Mihelich had 12 helpers and is the first freshman to finish with 10 or more assists in her debut since Lauren Wilke in 2018. On the defensive side, Kristen DeLorenzo and Skylar Hanley led the squad with 18 and 10 digs respectively. It is DeLorenzo's fifth time with 10 or more digs and Hanely's second 10-plus dig performance.

In the first set, Allen recorded the first Division I point for Stonehill after swatting the ball past the Asheville defense. From that point on, both sides went back and forth before the Bulldogs generated a four-point advantage (13-9). Stonehill cut into the deficit and made it a two-point UNC Asheville advantage (14-12) behind two kills from Allen and a service error by the Bulldogs. As the match went on, UNC Asheville reached their largest lead of seven (24-17) but the Skyhawks went on a 4-0 run led by another kill from Allen and three UNC Asheville service errors to make it 24-21. However, the Bulldogs went on to win 25-21 after a Stonehill service error. 

The second set saw UNC Asheville jump out to a quick 5-1 lead but Stonehill quickly chipped away and cut the lead to one (5-4) highlighted by a kill and service ace from Allen. The Bulldogs again raced out to a four-point lead (13-9) but this time, the Skyhawks retook the lead from UNC Asheville when they utilized a 7-3 run and made it 17-16. During Stonehill's rally, two different Skyhawks had at least two kills (Allen and Mia Berardino) and the squad went on to generate their largest lead, 20-17 highlighted by a kill from Graves and another service ace by Turner. After the Bulldogs came back and tied the match at 20, the Skyhawks quickly took the lead back after a kill from McCloskey (21-20) but UNC Asheville closed the match on a 5-2 run to take set two, 25-23. 

Set three saw Stonehill record their highest hitting percentage on the afternoon (.297) and again, UNC Asheville started out with a five-point lead (7-2). The Skyhawks rallied and cut the deficit to three (8-5) from kills by Allen, Watson, and Graves. As the match went on, Stonehill constantly hung around the Bulldogs and ended down by two (13-11) after capitalizing on a UNC Asheville service error. Both sides continued to go back and forth and late in the match, before the Skyhawks found themselves down by as much as six (22-16). However, the purple and white used a late rally and cut the deficit down to two again (23-21) courtesy of a 5-1 run highlighted by a stretch of three kills in a row from Allen. The Bulldogs, however, recorded back-to-back kills to complete the win (25-23). 

University of North Alabama 3, Stonehill 0

(13-25, 9-25, 14-25)

Jentry Allen once again led the Skyhawks in kills (six), Amanda Maier and Mia Berardino each had four, and Hannah Kemmerer and Kaitlyn Watson finished with three kills to round out the top three. Delaney Mihelich finished with 11 assists against the Lions for her second straight match with 10 or more assists. Molly Turner was not far behind with eight assists but led the squad in service aces with two which marked her 11th career game with multiple service aces. Turner and Kristen DeLorenzo each notched five digs defensively followed by Maier and Mihelich each with three and Skylar Hanely, Lauren McCloskey, and Leah Michalowski had two to round out the top three. 

Set one saw North Alabama get off to a hot start with an early seven-point lead (12-5), but Stonehill sliced two points off the deficit to come within five of the Lions. During the Skyhawsk quick burst, Kemmerer notched a kill and McClosky had her only service ace which then made it 12-7. However, the Lions would not let the Skyhawks any closer than that as North Alabama would continue their strong offensive start to take set one. In the first set, Allen, McCloskey, and Kemmerer led Stonehill with two kills each. 

North Alabama continued their strong offensive push in set two as the Lions took a quick 4-1 lead, but Watson helped cut the deficit to two (4-2) after a hard kill. After that, it was all Lions as North Alabama took set two spearheaded by a 13-1 run. For Stonehill in set two, Berardino and Watson led the Skyhawks with two back-and-forth

Set three started out with back-and-forth play from both sides as there were three ties right away. After North Alabama would go up 3-2, Maier recorded a kill to even things at three. The Lions would slowly start to pull away by pushing their lead to seven (12-5) before the Skyhawks cut the deficit to four (14-10) behind back-to-back kills from Allen and multiple North Alabama service errors. Despite cutting into the Lions' lead, North Alabama's offense continued to push and eventually earn the match win. Allen led Stonehill in set three with four kills followed by Maier (three), and Berardino (two) to complete the top three. 

Up Next:

Stonehill finishes up at the UNC Asheville Invitational with another doubleheader tomorrow starting with Queens (N.C.) University at 11 a.m. and Morehead State at 3 p.m.

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