EASTON, MASS (October 22, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team finished off the weekend with yet another win, this time topping the University of Hartford, 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-20,25-20) Saturday afternoon at Merkert Gymnasium.

Jentry Allen led the offense with 13 kills on the afternoon. Her 13 kills marked the sixth time this year she posted 10 or more kills. Allen is currently at 396 kills for her career and would just need four more to reach the 400-kill plateau. Not far behind her was Emma Graves at 10 kills and she has now posted 10 or more kills in her last three matches. Molly Turner paced the offense with 17 assists on the day and behind her was Delaney Mihelich with 12. Turner has posted 10 or more assists in four of her last five matches whereas Mihelich has done so in seven straight contests. Defensively, three different Skyhawks finished with 10 or more digs (Kristen DeLorenzo-12, Mihelich-11, and Allen-10). Lauren McCloskey assisted on a career-high seven blocks Saturday as the squad posted a season-best, 22 block assists. It is the first time Stonehill has had 20 or more block assists since last year (Nov. 19) in the NE10 semifinals against the University of New Haven (20 block assists).

Stonehill's offense was off and running in the opening frame when the squad jumped out to an early 8-3 lead highlighted by two kills from both Allen and Graves along with a DeLorezo service ace. Hartford pulled within three (9-6) but despite the Hawks' momentum, the Skyhawks nearly doubled up their lead (13-7) behind a 4-1 push before Hartford needed to call a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, the Purple and White put the set out of reach thanks to a 12-6 outburst for a 25-13 set victory. During the Skyhawks closing burst, Allen, Kaitlyn Watson, and Mia Berardino each notched kills while the team also took advantage of multiple Hartford errors.

The second set flipped as Hartford got out to the early lead (8-4) but the Skyhawks fought back and reclaimed the advantage with a 5-1 rally (9-8) thanks to an Allen kill and McCloskey service ace. Stonehill gave themselves some breathing room with a three-point lead (15-12) after a Bianca Fitch service ace. Despite the lead, the Hawks pushed back and evened the match at 18 with a 6-3 run and retook the lead the next play with a kill. Up 20-19, DeLorenzo came up with a clutch kill and tied the set at 20. Hartford held off Stonehill's momentum and took set two with a 5-2 run (25-22).

The Skyhawks started the third set like the first and got out to an 8-2 lead before the Hawks used a timeout of theirs early in the frame. After a Lindsey Peirson kill put the squad up 9-3, Hartford stormed back with a 6-0 run and tied the match at nine. Although the match was tied, Stonehill extended their lead to four (17-13) thanks to an 8-5 run spearheaded by two kills from Berardino and a Mihelich service ace. The Hawks pulled back within two (19-17) but the Skyhawks held off the late push by Hartford and took set three with a 6-3 run for a score of 25-20. 

Stonehill's offense continued where they left off in the third set when they doubled up Hartford with an early 8-4 advantage. Hartford came within two (9-7) but like the previous sets, Stonehill kept Hartford at bay and got out to a four-point lead (11-7) before Hartford called a timeout. After the timeout, the Purple and White put the contest out of reach with an 8-5 burst which made the score 19-12. Allen highlighted the Stonehill run with three kills along with being able to take advantage of more Hartford errors. The Hawks made things interesting at the end when came within two (20-18) courtesy of an 8-1 rally. Despite the momentum from Hartford, Stonehill held on for the 3-1 win thanks to a closing 5-2 run. 

Up Next

Stonehill will have some much-deserved time off before hosting Saint Francis University for a Northeast Conference matchup next Friday, October 28 at 5 p.m.

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