Women's Volleyball Splits Tri-Match on Saturday; Warriors Defeat SCSU, 3-1, in NE-10 Play
Links: Box Score (SCSU) | Box Score (Bridgeport)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team took home a four-set victory over Southern Connecticut before a three-set lost to Bridgeport as the Warriors competed in a tri-match hosted by the Owls on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Navy and Gold won its first league match, improving to 1-2 in Northeast-10 Conference play this season.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 3, Southern CT 1 (30-28, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21)
Score: Bridgeport 3, Merrimack 0 (25-6, 25-23, 25-17)
Records: Merrimack (5-8, 1-2 NE-10) | Southern CT (3-14, 1-4 NE-10) | Bridgeport (9-6, 4-0 ECC)
Location: Pelz Gymnasium | New Haven, Conn.
How It Happened
In the first match of the afternoon, junior Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) posted a career-high 16 kills and classmate Jennifer Cain (Melrose, Mass.) tied her career and season high with 20 kills of her own as the Warriors took three of four sets to defeat the Owls.
During the opening frame, a 30-28 victory for Merrimack, the Warriors totaled 20 kills as a team and a .231 hitting percentage to win a prolonged set. The Warriors led by as many as five points early in the frame, but the Owls battled back. It took the Navy and Gold four set points to win the set, as a kill from Christina Nye (Plaistow, Mass.) followed by an attacking error by the Owls gave Merrimack the two-point triumph.
The second set was also closely contested, as Merrimack needed a 26th point to take a 2-0 advantage. Trailing by four points on three separate occasions, including 22-18, the Warriors went on a 8-2 run to win. McCall totaled two kills during that stretch, while the Warriors won the set on back-to-back errors by Southern CT.
Following a third-set win by the Owls to force a fourth frame, Merrimack prevented the match going to a fifth set by winning , 25-21. Leading by one, 11-10, the Navy and Gold won the next four points highlighted by three kills from Cain. The Warriors did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way as kills from junior Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Cain cemented the Warriors' first conference win of 2015.
The following match pitted the Warriors against one of the top programs in the region in the University of Bridgeport. The Purple Knights own a 20-match winning streak in East Coast Conference play dating back to last season as Bridgeport advanced to the East Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament.
After an opening set loss, the Warriors played the Purple Knights tough in the second session. The set opened with back-to-back kills for freshman Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.) as Merrimack surged to a 5-0 advantage. Holding a 7-3 lead, Bridgeport went on a 5-0 spurt of its own to take a 8-7 lead. Trailing by six at 20-14, the Warriors won six of the next points to make it a two-point set, 22-20. Cain, Nye and Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) all had kills during that stretch. Two errors and another Cain kill tied the frame at 23-all, but consecutive kills by the Purple Knights gave the ECC squad the set.
Bridgeport pulled away to win the third set, 25-17, and won the match. Merrimack dropped its overall record to 5-8 with one non-conference match remaining the rest of the regular season.
Inside The Numbers
- McCall's 16 kills bested her previous career high of 15 set earlier this season. With a .250 hitting percentage against the Owls, she registered of fifth match this season with an attacking rate of at least .250
- For the second time this season, Cain tied her personal best with 20 kills. She totaled nine to lead the team against the Purple Knights, snapping a five-match streak with double digit kills. The junior captain increased her team-leading season average to 3.17 kills per set
- Senior libero Madison Burke (San Jose, Calif.) combined for 48 digs on the day, including a team-leading 32 against the Owls. The total marked the third team this season Burke has reached the 30-dig plateau. She now has over 1,700 for her career and is on pace to set personal bests in total digs and digs per set
- Stuhr combined for 77 assists over the two matches. Her 58 helpers against the Owls rested two shy of tying her career high. She moved closer to 3,000 assists for her career, collecting 2,653 of them through 70 career matches
Up Next
The Navy and Gold return home on Thursday night for their non-conference finale against Saint Anselm at 7 p.m. from Hammel Court.
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