Volleyball Picks Up First Home Victory Of The Season; Downing LIU Post 3-1
NORTH ANDOVER, MA – The Merrimack women's volleyball team picked up their first home victory of the season on Friday night, downing LIU Post by the score of 3-1. With the win Merrimack improves to 3-6 overall while LIU Post falls to 7-6 overall.
Stephanie Sheehan (Smithtown, NY) continued her strong play for the Warriors as she recorded her fourth straight double-double in the victory with 10 kills and 11 digs. Seniors Shaunda Forcier (Gonic, NH) and Jenna Reilly (Northport, NY) both came up big in the victory recording 11 and 10 kills respectively. Forcier recorded six digs while Reilly led the Warriors in blocks once again with four. Corrine Gosselin (Lawrence, Mass.) chipped in with 10 kills and four blocks as well.
"It was great as a coach to see our team come together over a week's worth of practice," said head coach TJ Hajjar. "All 13 girls contributed to this big win tonight and I am very proud of them."
Game scores against LIU Post: 25-22, 26-28, 25-13, 25-22
The Warriors jumped out quick in the opening set as they took the 4-0 lead early on after a kill by Reilly opened up the game. Merrimack continued to put the pressure on, taking the 10-5 lead after a big kill by Forcier. The Pioneers made the game close later on as they tied the score at 20 but the Warriors were able to end the game on a 5-2 run to take the opening set as Sheehan recorded the kill to end the set.
Set two saw the Warriors jump out front once again, taking the 6-2 lead after back-to-back kills by Forcier. The Warriors held the lead until the Pioneers tied it at 16 halfway through the second game. Merrimack fought back and took the lead 25-24 after a kill by Jackie Jones (Amherst, NH). The Warriors however could not finish the set off, falling 28-26 in the second.
Merrimack dominated the third set, taking the 2-1 advantage. The Warriors led in the set by as many as 12 as they won 25-13. Gosselin led the way for the Warriors with four kills in the set and Brianna Trabucco (Canton, Mass.) had a set-high 12 assists, leading the Warriors to victory in the third.
The fourth set was tightly contested early on but the Warriors were able to take over later in the set, downing the Pioneers by the score of 25-22. The Warriors went on an 8-2 run in the middle of the set to take control and secure their first home victory of the season. Forcier led the Warriors with four kills in the set on nine attempts.
The Warriors finished the game with three players recording double digit digs for the first time on the season as Sheehan, Madison Burke (San Jose, Calif.) and Allison Cote (Chelmsford, Mass.) recorded 11, 13 and 11 respectively.
The Pioneers were led by Melissa Hansen who recorded a team-high 11 kills, three blocks and two digs. Makamae Namahoe finished with a double-double as she had 10 kills and 12 digs in the loss. Katie Barto finished with a team-high 24 assists while Rachel Ringor finished with a game-high 19 digs.
Merrimack (3-6, 0-0 NE-10) will return to action on tomorrow as they will travel to Bentley to take on Dowling at 1 p.m. and Mercy at 3 p.m.
