EASTON, MASS. (October 7, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team continued Northeast Conference play when the squad hosted Long Island University but fell to the Sharks, 3-0 (20-25, 11-25, 19-25) Friday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium. 

Lauren McCloskey led the Stonehill offense with seven kills. McCloskey has posted five or more kills in 10 of her last 12 matches and has passed the five-kill mark 13 times overall this year. Not far behind was Jentry Allen with six kills on the day. In three of her last five contests, Allen has posted five or more kills and has done so 12 other times on the year.  Delaney Mihelich guided the offense with a team-high eight assists and she has now finished with five or more assists in all 17 contests this year. Molly Turner finished right behind her with seven assists and she has posted five or more assists in five straight matches. Turner also led the squad defensively with seven digs which marked a new season-high for the senior. 

In the opening set Stonehill's offense was out and running when the purple and white jumped out to an 8-3 lead spearheaded by two service aces and a kill from Mihelich along with a kill from Lindsey Peirson. Later in the set, the Skyhawks grabbed their largest lead (13-7) after capitalizing on a Sharks attack error. However, Long Island stormed back and recaptured the lead (15-14) thanks to an 8-1 run before Stonehill called timeout. After the timeout, both sides continued to battle and after the Sharks went up 18-17, Stonehill tied things back up after a Long Island service error. Despite the late momentum, Long Island wrapped up the opening frame with a 7-2 push (25-20). 

Long Island continued their offensive momentum in set number two when they got out to an early 8-3 lead. However, Stonehill trimmed the deficit to two (10-8) courtesy of a 5-2 rally led by two kills from McCloskey and another service ace from Mihelich. Long Island responded with a 7-3 run and pushed their lead to six (17-11) which led to a Skyhawks timeout. From there, the Sharks closed out set number two on an 8-0 run for a score of 25-11. In set number two, McCloskey and Kaitlyn Watson led the purple and white with two kills apiece. 

Set number three saw Long Island's offense continue where it left off when the Sharks jumped to a 6-2 lead. The Skyhawks responded and cut the Sharks lead to one (6-5) after taking advantage of a Long Island attack error. After back-and-forth play, Stonehill evened the match at nine from another attack error and retook the lead (10-9) the next play after Turner had a service ace. Even with the one-point advantage, the Sharks pushed their lead back up to four (14-10). Stonehill again would cut Long Island's lead to two three more times (14-12, 15-13, and 17-15). Long Island ended up giving themselves some more breathing room when they went up six (21-15). The squad cut into the deficit and made it a four-point match (21-17) after Allen notched another kill. However, Long Island ended up hanging on for the sweep, 25-19. 

Up Next

Stonehill wraps up their five-game homestand with an NEC matchup against St. Francis College Brooklyn tomorrow at 5 p.m. Tomorrow's match also marks the squad's Dig Pink game and the Skyhawks currently have a donation page which can you see by clicking HERE.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.