Cain Doubles Up as Women's Volleyball Sweeps Saint Anselm Thursday Night
Links: Highlights | Box Score | Jennifer Cain Interview
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team surged ahead of the Saint Anselm Hawks on Thursday night and never looked back, as the Warriors defeated the Hawks in straight sets in a non-conference match from Hammel Court.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 3, Saint Anselm 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-23)
Records: Merrimack (6-8) | Saint Anselm (6-8)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
The Warriors entered their final out-of-conference contest of the season looking for momentum entering a stretch that will see them play 12 Northeast-10 contests over the final 12 matches.
Merrimack led coast-to-coast in the opening set, never falling behind the visitors. Two kills from junior Jennifer Cain (Melrose, Mass.) and a kill from sophomore Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) made it a 10-7 frame early on. Holding a seven-point lead, 20-13, the Warriors allowed the Hawks to record four unanswered points to make a 20-17 set. The Navy and Gold responded with a 5-1 run to end the set, capped off by a service ace from freshman Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.).
After hitting at a clip of .154 as a team in the opening set, Merrimack combined for 30 kills and only nine errors over the final two sets. The middle frame began with five straight points for the Warriors, including back-to-back service aces from junior Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.).
Saint Anselm worked its way back into the set, using a 7-2 run to tie it a 15-all. The hosts answered by winning 10 of the next 14 points to take the set and not allow the Hawks to hold a lead. During that stretch, Basauri, Cain and McCarroll all recorded kills for the Warriors.
The third set was the most contested between the local rivals. The Hawks won three of the first four points to take their first lead of the night. Later on and trailing by two points, 16-14, Saint Anselm went on a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead by three.
Merrimack halted the run there. Facing a 20-17 deficit, Merrimack won five of the next seven points courtesy of two errors and three kills from Cain. Merrimack's junior captain capped off the night with her match-high 17th kill on the far side and the Warriors came away with a 25-23 set win and 3-0 match victory.
Inside The Numbers
- Cain continued her stellar play of late for the Warriors. She set a season high and tied her season best from last season with a .355 hitting percentage. The match marked the fourth time in her career that the junior has recorded an attack rate of at least .350. She also finished with 15 digs, her fifth double-double of the year and fourth in her last five matches
- Senior libero Madison Burke (San Jose, Calif.) tied with Cain for the match high with 15 digs. Sophomore Christina Nye (Plaistow, N.H.) joined her two captains in double digits with 10 digs of her own
- Stuhr dished out 35 assists for the most of any player. She added four service aces, which was also a match high
- Basauri was efficient offensively, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage on five kills in 12 attacks. Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) notched nine kills and only two errors for a .259 attack percentage
- For the second time this season, the Warriors blanked an opponent. The victory marked Merrimack's first at home this season after winning seven in nine matches at Hammel Court in 2014
Up Next
The Warriors travel to West Haven, Conn. on Saturday afternoon to play the defending regional champions as the University of New Haven awaits the Navy and Gold. The match is slated to get underway at 1 p.m.
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