Volleyball Collects First Conference Victory; Downs Bentley 3-1
WALTHAM, MA – The Merrimack women's volleyball team picked up their first conference victory of the season on Tuesday night as they downed the Bentley Falcons on the road by the score of 3-1. With the win, Merrimack improves to 8-14 overall and 1-8 in the Northeast-10 Conference while Bentley falls to 9-16 overall and 4-6 in the NE-10.
"I really liked how the girls came out and played right from the start tonight," said head coach TJ Hajjar. "It was nice to see them finish off what they started and pick up a conference victory."
The Merrimack offense was led by sophomore Stephanie Sheehan (Smithtown, NY) who recorded her team leading tenth double-double of the season with a match-high 17 kills and 10 digs in the victory. Shaunda Forcier (Gonic, NH) recorded her seventh game of double digit kills with 13 and her first double-double of the season as she also had 11 digs. Brianna Trabucco (Canton, Mass.) recorded her seventh game of 40 plus assists as she finished with a match-high 42 while Allison Cote (Chelmsford, Mass.) finished with a team-high 12 digs. Corrine Gosselin (Lawrence, Mass.) continued her solid play as she finished with six kills, a team-high four blocks and four digs.
Game scores against Bentley: 25-21, 25-20, 16-25, 25-21
Merrimack fell behind early on in the first set by the score of 5-3 but they went on a 4-0 run behind consecutive service aces by Jenna Reilly (Northport, NY). However the Falcons went on a 6-0 run and took the commanding lead later in the set. Trailing 19-17 late in the set, Merrimack finished the set on an 8-2 run to take the set, 25-21, behind three kills by Sheehan.
The Warriors dominated the second set behind multiple runs of at least three points. Merrimack opened up the second set on a 3-0 run as Sheehan recorded a kill and Trabucco racked up a service ace. With the score tied at 10, both teams traded a couple 2-0 runs until Merrimack finished off the set with a 7-1 run to win the set by the score of 25-20. Merrimack outhit their opponents .344 to .200 in the second set.
The Falcons denied Merrimack of the straight set victory as they dominated the Warriors by the score of 25-16. The Falcons used two 5-0 runs to put Merrimack away in the set.
The Warriors secured their first conference victory of the season in the fourth set as they put the Falcons away by the score of 25-21. Merrimack used runs of 5-0 and 6-0 and closed the match out on a 4-1 run as Sheehan ended the match with a monster kill.
The Falcons were led by Grace Conner who finished the match with a team-high 13 kills and a match-high six blocks in the loss. Kelsey Buckner finished with a double-double as she recorded 10 kills and 12 digs to go along with three service aces. Kyana Miller recorded a team-high 39 assists and six digs in the defeat.
Merrimack (8-14, 1-8 NE-10) will stay on the road for a match on Thursday night as they will travel to take on the American International Yellow Jackets. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
