Women's Volleyball Tripped Up in Two Matches to Begin Merrimack Invitational Friday

Women's Volleyball Tripped Up in Two Matches to Begin Merrimack Invitational Friday

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Links: Box Score (East Stroudsburg) | Box Score (Neb.-Kearney) | Game Highlights (ESU) | Game Highlights (UNK)

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team opened play in the inaugural Merrimack Invitational with a pair of matches on Friday against East Stroudsburg University and No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney. The Warriors fell to East Stroudsburg, 3-2, to open the day before dropping a 3-0 contest to the Lopers to end the night.

The Basics
 Score: East Stroudsburg 3, Merrimack 2 (17-25 | 26-28 | 25-22 | 25-21 | 15-7)
Score: #5 Nebraska-Kearney 3, Merrimack 0 (25-8 | 25-18 | 25-8)
Records: Merrimack (1-10) | East Stroudsburg (7-3) | #5 Nebraska-Kearney (11-0)
Location: North Andover, Mass.  | Hammel Court

How It Happened (East Stroudsburg)

  • 1st set –  The Warriors started the tournament strong, opening a 10-5 lead over East Stroudsburg that featured three kills from senior Jennifer Cain (Melrose, Mass.). Stroudsburg pulled within on point thanks to a 4-0 run, but the Warriors responded with six straight points of their own capped off by another kill from Cain. Merrimack proceeded to win the opener, 25-17
  • 2nd set – Jumping to the final few points of the game, Merrimack battled back to take a 2-0 lead. The Navy and Gold fought off three set points, and won the frame by going on 3-0 spurt that included kills from freshmen Catherine Flaherty (North Andover, Mass.), Julia Stewart (Melville, N.Y.) and Cain
  • 3rd set – East Stroudsburg forced a fourth set with a 25-22 win. The game was tied on 11 occassions before the visiting Warriors pulled ahead for good
  • 4th set – Senior Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) posted a career morning (see below), and it was her kill that gave Merrimack an 8-3 lead in the fourth frame. Stroudsburg rallied to tie things up at nine-all before eventually securing the advantage. Merrimack closed the deficit to one late in the set, but the last three points went in favor of the visitors to force a fifth and deciding game
  • 5th set – The final set belonged to the visitors. A 4-0 run turned a 3-2 advantage into a 7-2 lead, and after that the Navy and Gold did not get closer than three points, falling by a 15-7 final

How It Happened (#5 Neb.-Kearney)

  • 1st set –  The fifth-ranked program in the nation arrived on campus and proved why, winning all six of the sets they played. The Lopers won 11 of the first 13 points to pull ahead 11-2 and did not look back. The Warriors finished with five kills in the set, including two from Cain
  • 2nd set – The Navy and Gold played their best in the middle game, hanging with the Lopers for the entire set. After falling down 6-1, the Warriors roared on a 6-1 run of their own to tie the frame at seven-all. Cain totaled two kills, while McCall added one during that stretch. Later on, the Navy and Gold turned at 14-8 deficit into a 15-14 margin following another 6-1 spurt. Sophomores Katelynn Marr (Franklin, Mass.) and Amanda Cain (Melrose, Mass.) each netted points, with the former hitting a kill and the latter recording a service ace
  • 3rd set – The final set belonged to UNK. The Lopers notched 14 straight points to build a 16-point lead. Senior Samantha Albano (Longboat Key, Fla.) and freshman Rosie Sperduto (Brentwood, Tenn.) each made appearances in the set for Merrimack

Inside The Numbers

  • The five-setter against East Stroudsburg marked Merrimack's first full-length affair of the season. Last year the two programs also met in a match that went the distance, with Merrimack prevailing on that occassion
  • Senior setter Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.) finished the day with 64 assists, bringing her season total to 333 and career total to 3,397
  • McCall's hitting performance against East Stroudsburg marked the best of her career, and one of the best performances all season from an attacking player for Merrimack. She finished with 14 kills on 24 attacks and did not commit an error for a career-high .583 hitting percentage. The kills total fell two short of her personal best of 16
  • Junior Christina Nye (Plaistow, N.H.) posted a season-high of 18 digs in Merrimack's first match of the day.  In the second match, Stewart suited up in the libero jersey for the first time in her career
  • In both matches, Jennifer Cain led the team in kills, combining for 28, including 18 in the opening match

Up Next
 The Warriors play three matches in the final day of the Merrimack Invite tomorrow, kicking things off at 8 a.m. with a rematch against the Lopers.

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