NORTH ANDOVER, MASS. – The Merrimack Men's Volleyball team defeated the Sacred Heart University Pioneers Saturday afternoon by a score of 3-1 in their sixth NEC matchup.
The Essentials
Score: Merrimack 3, Sacred Heart 1
Records:Merrimack (8-9, 2-4 NEC) | Sacred Heart (5-8, 3-3 NEC)
Location: Hammel Court, North Andover MA
Rapid Recap
In the first set, Merrimack struck first with the first two points. The Pioneers would respond with two points of their own. Both teams would battle back and forth with one and two point leads early on in the first set. Sacred Heart took over the lead at 12-10 as they scored two more points. The Warriors scored two more points of their own being only down by 2 at 14-12. The Pioneers went on a three-point run followed by a four-point run with the set 22-15. The Warriors looked to get back in the first set with a three-point run but Sacred Heart closed out the first set 25-19 with a 1-0 lead in the series.
In the second set, The Pioneers struck first this time with the first two points. The Warriors with two points in between a point from Sacred Heart. The Pioneers had a three-point run to give them the lead 7-3. The Warriors looked to catch up as they went on a three-point run with a point from Sacred Heart in between that run to only be down by 2. Merrimack would have a three-point run to tie up the second set 9-9. The Pioneers broke it up with a two-point run, however, the Warriors responded with a two-point run of their own to tie the set up again. The Warriors took over later in the second set with two three-point runs to give them the lead and won the second set 25-19, tying up the series 1-1.
Heading into the third set, the Warriors had four early points taking the lead 4-1. The Pioneers looked to catch up and tie the set but the Warriors would not let them with a two-point run 7-3. Sacred Heart had a three-point run looking to catch up to Merrimack but the Warriors continued to score to take the lead. Both teams traded one and two-points until the Warriors went on a four-point run 14-10. Sacred Heart responded with a three-point run of their own to tie the game up 15-15. Later in the third set saw competitiveness between both teams as they traded a point with each other. The Warriors went on 2 two-point runs back to back to win the third set 25-23 and take the lead in the series 2-1.
In the fourth and final set, both teams would score early points with Sacred Heart taking the lead 6-5. Merrimack broke that lead with a four-point run to have the Pioneers trail by three. Sacred Heart looked to take back the lead but the Warriors denied them with a four-point run 16-10. Later in the set saw both teams looking to take the lead over one another as they traded either a one-point run or two. The Warriors finished up the fourth and final set with a two-point run and one point after a bad set to win 25-20 and take the series 3-1.
Notes and Numbers
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Miles Dewhirst had 14 kills,
Xander Thesz had 11, and
Logan Whitaker had 9
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Carson Bashford had 43 assists during the match .
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Kyle Standage had 12 digs in the game.
Up Next:
The Warriors will be back in Hammel Court as they take on Long Island University on Friday night. Game time is set for 5pm.
