Volleyball's Win Streak Snapped by SCSU; Showdown with New Haven on Saturday
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Despite a season-high 22 kills and the
ninth double-double this season from Molly Cindric
(Westlake Village, CA), the Merrimack volleyball team had
its five-game winning streak snapped on Friday, losing to Southern
Connecticut 3-1 at the Volpe Gym.
Game scores were 26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 25-18.
The first set featured nine tie scores and five lead changes, as
Cindric forced the tie-breaker after getting a kill to tie the
score at twenty-four. But Broghan Miller responded with consecutive
kills to give the visitors the first set victory.
Trailing 13-9 in the second, the Warriors used a 9-2 run to take
the 18-15 lead, featuring two kills from Cindric. But Southern
Connecticut recovered, rattling off 10 of the final 15 points, with
Jenna Tammel finishing off the set with a kill.
Merrimack did not go down without a fight as it overcame a 6-2
deficit in the third to tie the match at eight after a block from
Jenna Reilly (Northport, NY) and Shaunda
Forcier (Gonic, NH). The score was tied at 20 before
Megan Murray (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) picked
up two kills, and Cindric finished off the set with a kill and a
solo block to send it to the fourth.
But the Owls took control immediately in the fourth, building
leads of 9-3 and 16-9, before closing it out 25-18 for the big road
victory.
"We had an opportunity to play a good team that has stepped up
in the conference and we failed to meet their intensity and
mettle," said head coach Joey Pacis. "The loss pointed out some of
our weaknesses that we need to continue to work on, and we hope to
turn it around in the next couple weeks before the conference
tournament."
Cindric picked up her ninth double-double of the season on 22
kills and 14 digs but committed 10 of Merrimack's 26 attack
errors. Elyse Lorenz (Frankfurt, IL) added 45
assists, seven digs and three kills, while Reilly notched 10 kills
for the second time this season. Murray and Forcier had seven kills
each, with Murray picking up two solo blocks and four block
assists. Natalee Yeazle (Blaine, MN) finished with
eight kills and a .375 hitting percentage, while Alyssa
Pickert (Tinley Park, IL) tallied 24 digs.
Attack errors killed the Warriors as they committed six in the
first set and nine in the fourth.
Tammel led the Owls with 19 digs, 18 kills and three service aces.
Kimberly Lachowicz also had a double-double on 44 assists and 12
digs. In all, the visitors picked up 12 service aces and hit .183
overall.
The Warriors (17-6, 6-3 NE-10) head to New Haven Saturday for a 1
p.m. showdown with the first-place Chargers. Last season, New Haven
captured the Northeast-10 regular season and postseason
championship, defeating the Warriors 3-2 in the NE-10 finals.
