Volleyball Falls in Close Match to Lowell 3-1
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Despite double-doubles from
Shaunda Forcier (Gonic, NH) and Elyse Lorenz (Frankfurt, IL), the Merrimack volleyball team was
defeated by UMass-Lowell Tuesday night 3-1 in conference
action.
Game scores were 25-23, 14-25, 25-22, 27-25.
The Warriors nearly forced a fifth set, as they tied the match
at 23, 24, and 25, overcoming a match point on back-to-back kills
from Molly Cindric (Westlake Village, CA) and
Megan Murray (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA). But the
River Hawks recovered as Sarah Coscia and Vicky Wong notched
consecutive points to give the visitors the 27-25 fourth-set
victory and the match, Lowell's second win over Merrimack
this season.
In a first set that saw the Warriors commit eight attack errors
and hit just .024, Lowell received five kills each from Coscia and
Lea Freeman to overcome eight lead changes and win 25-23.
The hosts rebounded in the second, taking a commanding 18-10
lead and closing it out with a 25-14 victory behind five kills from
Forcier and three from Nicole Duarte (Windham,
NH). Lowell was its own worst enemy, committing five
service errors while hitting just .071.
Despite just six kills to nine attack errors for Lowell in the
third, the visitors prevailed with the 25-22 victory. The Warriors
also struggled, committing 13 attack errors and hit -.113 for the
set, converting on only 43% of their sideout points.
"In the end, we weren't sharp enough to win the
match tonight," said head coach Joey Pacis. "We need to
find some urgency at the beginning of the game and not wait until
it's 24-24 in our matches this weekend."
Forcier led the way offensively with 12 kills and 13 digs, while
Lorenz totaled 35 assists, 12 digs and two aces. Duarte picked up
eight kills, while Alyssa Pickert (Tinley Park,
IL) had a match-high 29 digs.
Coscia was a force for the River Hawks, getting 20 kills while
hitting .224. Freeman added a double-double on 15 kills and 15 digs
and tallied five blocks.
Merrimack (2-8, 1-4 NE-10) continues conference action at Saint
Rose Friday at 7 p.m. and at Le Moyne Saturday at 1 p.m.
