Volleyball Suffers 3-1 Setback to Southern Connecticut
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Merrimack volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Southern Connecticut State Thursday evening at Volpe Gym. The loss pushes the Warriors to 3-14 overall and 0-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference. The Owls improved to 12-5 on the season and 4-3 in league matches.
Jackie Jones (Amherst, NH) posted a match-high 15 kills on the night for Merrimack. Stephanie Sheehan (Smithtown, NY) recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the year with 10 kills and 11 digs. Shaunda Forcier (Gonic, NH) racked up 18 digs for the hosts while Brianna Trabucco (Canton, MA) dished out 38 assists.
Southern Connecticut claimed set one 25-17 to grab a quick 1-0 lead. Merrimack stormed back to even the match at one set each with a 25-23 result in set two. The Owls prevailed in sets three and four, 25-16 and 25-21, respectively, to earn the victory.
Set one started out evenly contested before Southern Connecticut pulled ahead by scoring points in small bunches. The Warriors clawed back to within three points at 16-13 but a five-point run by the visitors kept Merrimack at bay.
Southern Connecticut took an early 4-2 lead in the second frame but the hosts fought back to tie the game at 4-4. The largest margin in the set was a three-point gap as an ace by Nicole Duarte (Windham, NH) put the Warriors ahead 13-10.
Merrimack took a 23-21 advantage on a kill by Jackie Jones but the Owls leveled the set for the 11th time at 23-23. The Warriors clinched the following two points to earn the victory and tie the match at 1-1.
The home team jumped out to an 8-3 lead in set three before Southern Connecticut worked to even the game at 9-9. A six-point run by the Owls fueled them to the win as they took a 2-1 advantage.
Merrimack clung to a slight lead throughout the opening points of set four. The visitors tied the set at 9-9. Southern Connecticut extended its lead in the frame to seven as Megan Hiss recorded a kill, moving the score to 19-12.
The Warriors battled back to reach a three-point deficit but the Owls put the match away with a kill by Megan Lyons.
"We fought hard all night and we showed a lot of intensity throughout the match," said first-year head coach TJ Hajjar. "I thought that we did a good job of remaining strong and focused in set two and that is how we took that set."
Merrimack is back in action tomorrow night, October 7, as it welcomes an opponent from north of the border for an exhibition match at Volpe Gym. The Warriors will square off against New Brunswick at 7 pm.
After the exhibition match against the Seawolves, Merrimack will travel to Franklin Pierce for a Northeast-10 Conference bout October 11.
