EASTON, MASS. (September 29, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team won the opening set on Friday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium only to see Merrimack College storm back with three straight set wins to claim the match, 3-1.

Lauren McCloskey led the Skyhawks offense with 10 kills and it is the second time this year she notched 10 kills. Molly Turner paced the squad offensively with her team-high 20 assists. Turner posted 20 or more assists in back-to-back contests and has now finished with 20 or more assists in five matches this year. Defensively, Kristen DeLorenzo had 15 digs and now has 10 multi-dig games on the year including three of her last four matches.

In the first set, both sides went back and forth early on and with the match tied at five, Stonehill grabbed their largest lead of the set (17-10) courtesy of a 12-5 run spearheaded by two kills from Jentry Allen and service aces from DeLorenzo and Kaitlyn Watson. Despite the large lead, the Warriors pushed back and cut the deficit to two (19-17) with a 7-2 rally. However, the Skyhawks were unfazed by the late Merrimack rally as the squad held Merrimack off with a Lindsey Peirson kill to secure set one, 25-22. 

Set number two saw Merrimack jump out to an early 5-2 lead but the purple and white battled back to tie the match at five after kills from both Peirson and Mia Berardino. After the Warriors took a brief 7-6 advantage, McCloskey tied things back up with another kill. Merrimack utilized a big run of their own to pull away when they went up 17-10 behind a 10-3 run. Merrimack continued to maintain a seven-point lead until an attack error cut it to six (20-14). However, that was the closest Stonehill got for the rest of the set as the Warriors closed set two on a 5-1 run for a 25-15 win. 

Merrimack's offense continued where they left off as they doubled the Skyhawks early with a 14-7 advantage. Stonehill trimmed the deficit to five (14-9) after a kill from Watson and Leah Michalowski service ace. Similar to the second set, the Warriors never let the Skyhawks get closer than that after closing the third set on an 11-6 spurt. In the third set, McCloskey and Watson led the squad with two kills apiece while Delaney Mihelich dished out three assists. Defensively, McCloskey notched her lone block of the match. 

The fourth set was similar to the first set as each side battled and when McCloskey tied the set at six, Stonehill had an 8-4 burst for their largest lead (14-10) highlighted by three kills in a row from Berardino. However, Merrimack pushed back and recaptured the lead (16-14) with a 6-0 run. After the Warriors went up 17-15, the Skyhawks cut it back to one after another McCloskey kill but the Warriors gave themselves some breathing room after going back up three (22-19). The purple and white would not go quietly though thanks to two errors by Merrimack and an ace from Berardino knotted things at 22. Despite Stonehill's late push to tie the set, Merrimack closed the match on a 3-0 spurt for a 25-22 win.

Up Next

Stonehill continues their homestand tomorrow when they host familiar foe, Franklin Pierce University at 2 p.m.

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