Volleyball Rallies To Pick Up Five Set Conference Victory At Assumption
Worcester, Mass. – The Merrimack women's volleyball team picked up their first conference victory of the season on Saturday afternoon as they rallied to win the final three sets against Assumption to win 3-2. With the win, the Warriors improve to 2-5 overall and 1-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play while the Greyhounds drop to 5-8 overall and 0-2 in NE-10 play.
After dropping the first two sets by a slim margin of 25-22 and 25-23, the Warriors rallied to dominate the final three sets and pick up the victory. The five set victory marks the second five set victory of the young season for Merrimack, beating last season's total of one five set victory.
"We started out real flat this afternoon but the girls fought through some adversity to pick up the big win," said head coach TJ Hajjar. "(Jackie) Jones came up with some huge blocks and (Madison) Burke played unbelievable for us, keeping the defense in check all afternoon."
Game scores against Assumption: 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 15-8
Leading the Warriors offensively once again was sophomore Stephanie Sheehan (Smithtown, NY) who finished with a match-high 21 kills and 14 digs, good for her second straight double-double. Jackie Jones (Amherst, NH) continued her strong play as she contributed with nine kills and nine blocks while senior Shaunda Forcier (Gonic, NH) finished off her impressive day with eight kills and eight digs in the victory. Defensively the Warriors were led once again by freshman Madison Burke (San Jose, Calif.) who finished with a match-high 23 digs. Allison Cote (Chelmsford, Mass.) chipped in with 12 digs while senior Jenna Reilly (Northport, NY) racked up a match-high 11 blocks.
Trailing 2-0 heading into possibly the final set of the afternoon, Merrimack dominated the third set to pick up the 25-20 win. Sheehan recorded four kills in the set while Reilly and Jones combined for eight blocks. Brianna Trabucco (Canton, Mass.) had a set-high seven assists for the Warriors.
The Warriors tied the match at two in the fourth set as once again Sheehan led Merrimack with five kills and six digs while the team hit for a percentage of .167 in the set. Jones and Reilly once again led the defense with three blocks apiece in the set.
The fifth and deciding set was dominated by the Warriors for their third consecutive set victory, downing the Greyhound 15-8. The Warriors hit at a match-high percentage of .350 in the final set to seal the come-from-behind victory for Merrimack. Burke had five digs in the set while Sheehan continued her great play with five kills.
The Greyhounds were led by Lauren Ostafin who recorded a double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 18 digs while Mary Johnston chipped in with 13 kills in the losing effort. Kristin Flatekval finished off her afternoon with a match-high 41 assists for Assumption.
Merrimack (2-5, 1-0 NE-10) will return to the court on Tuesday September 18 as they will play host to the Southern New Hampshire Penmen. The home opener is set for a 7 p.m. start.
