Women's Volleyball Falters vs. Pace Friday, 3-1

Merrimack College Athletics

Merrimack College Warriors

Women's Volleyball Falters vs. Pace Friday, 3-1

10/28/2016 12:00:00 AM

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team was three points away from forcing a fifth set on Friday night against the Pace University Setters, but the visitors rallied to win the fourth set and take a match, 3-1, in Northeast-10 action from Hammel Court.

How It Happened

1^st set – The Setters jumped out to a 10-4 lead, but the Warriors used a 6-2 run to make it a 12-10 frame. Pace responded by winning four unanswered points to take control of the set, as the Warriors never got closer than three points over the remainder of the opener.
2^nd set – The Warriors rallied to even the match at one-all following the second set. Sophomore Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.) capped off a 6-1 run with a kill to give Merrimack an early 7-6 advantage. With the visitors ahead, 14-11, Merrimack won eight of the next 10 points to take the lead for good, 19-16. Basauri and senior Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) notched a pair of kills during that stretch. Junior Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) struck a kill to bring the frame to a set point, which the Navy and Gold won on an error by Pace
3^rd set – The Warriors sat within one, 6-5, after the first 11 points of the frame before Pace pulled away. The Setters went on an 8-3 spurt to double up their advantage, 16-8. The team's exchanged points from there, before a kill on Pace's second set won made it a 2-1 match
4^th set – The final set proved to be the closest. Pace held a 17-14 lead before a 5-0 Merrimack run swung momentum to the Warriors. Four different players won points during the spurt, including McCarroll, McCall, senior Jennifer Cain (Melrose, Mass.) and freshman Julia Stewart (Melville, N.Y.). Back-to-back errors made it a 22-21 lead for the Warriors, but Pace rallied to win the final four points of the match, capped off by a point from Sydney Lecker

Inside The Numbers

Two Warriors finished in double figures in kills, led by 11 from Cain. Freshman Catherine Flaherty (North Andover, Mass.) totaled 10 of her own with only four errors on 35 attacks. She also added a team-high four blocks
Senior setter Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.) finished with a team-high 39 assists. She added 10 digs – second most on the squad – for her 10^th double-double of the season
Junior libero Christina Nye (Plaistow, N.H.) finished the night with 12 digs, extending her double-figure digs streak to 10 matches
Claudia Fontanet finished with 18 kills without an error for the Setters, for a hitting percentage of .439. Samantha Nidini totaled a match-high 50 assists from the setter position
MILESTONE WATCH: Stuhr's career-assist total rests at 3,894 as she nears the 4,000-assist milestone

Up Next
Merrimack returns to action at 1:00 tomorrow when the Warriors host Adelphi University at Hammel Court.

For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

Print Friendly Version