EASTON, MASS. (October 19, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team wrapped up a home and home against the highest overall wins leader in the America East, the University of New Hampshire (UNH). Despite taking the first set in a convincing fashion (25-13), the Skyhawks fell to the Wildcats, 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 20-25, 16-25) Wednesday at Merkert Gymnasium. 

Three Skyhawks tallied 10 or more kills Wednesday evening including a career-high 12 from Emma Graves. Along with Graves, Mia Berardino and Lauren McCloskey finished with 12 and 10 kills respectively and it marked just the second time this season three Skyhawks finished 10 or more kills (Sept. 28 at Hartford). Delaney Mihelich guided the offense with a team-high 25 assists and it is just the fourth time this year she eclipsed the 25-assist mark. Not far behind was Molly Turner who finished with 21 assists which marked her seventh game with 20 or more assists this season. Mihelich's 25 assists and Turner's 21 marked the second time this year teammates finished with 20 or more assists (Sept. 28 at Hartford). Defensively, Kristen DeLorenzo led the squad with 18 digs and it is her 12th time on the season with 10 or more digs.

Stonehill got off to a hot start in the first set going up 10-4 before UNH had to call a timeout. During Stonehill's quick start, Jentry Allen had two kills along with Berardino and Mihelich each chipping in one. DeLorenzo and McCloskey also added service aces. UNH would pull within four (14-10) after a 6-4 rally but despite the push, Stonehill closed the opening set on an 11-3 run for a 25-13 set victory. During Stonehill's offensive outburst, Graves and McCloskey spearheaded the run with two kills apiece. 

In the second set, Stonehill jumped out to an early two-point lead (8-6) highlighted by two kills from Allen. However, the Wildcats pushed back and recaptured the lead 12-10 but Stonehill rallied back and tied things at 12 thanks to a couple of UNH attack errors. The Wildcats gave themselves some breathing room and went up three (15-12) but again, the Purple and White battled back and evened the set at 15 courtesy of kills from Berardino, McCloskey, and Amanda Maier. Both sides continued to battle back and forth the rest of the way and after UNH went up 20-19, Stonehill tied the match again thanks to another UNH error. However, UNH held off any Stonehill momentum and closed the set on a 4-1 run for a 25-21 win.

The Skyhawks got out to a quick 2-1 lead after a Bianca Fitch kill but from there, UNH pushed back and took a two-point lead (7-5) but a Wildcats service error brought it back to one. Both sides continued to go back and forth and after Stonehill pulled within two (12-10), UNH utilized a 5-2 run for a 17-12 advantage before the Skyhawks had to call timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Stonehill pulled back within two (19-17) thanks to a 5-2 rally led by two more Allen kills. UNH again would go up three (21-18) but like all match, Stonehill rallied and found themselves down one (21-20) after a McCloskey kill. Unfortunately, the Wildcats finished the third set on a 4-0 push and went up 2-1. 

UNH continued their momentum from the previous set and was up 8-4 early before the Skyhawks had to use a timeout. After the time out, Stonehill pulled within three (14-11) thanks to kills from McCloskey and Allen's service ace. UNH though held off Stonehill's rally and went up 20-14 courtesy of a 6-3 run but the Skyhawks trimmed the deficit to four (20-16) after kills from Berardino and Graves. From there, UNH closed the match on a 5-0 push for a 3-1 victory. 

Up Next

Stonehill is back on the road for a quick one-game road matchup at Northeast Conference member, Merrimack College on Friday, October 21 at 7 p.m.

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