Women's Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches Friday at Banner Memorial Tournament

Women's Volleyball Drops Pair of Matches Friday at Banner Memorial Tournament

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Links: Box Score (Clarion) | Box Score (Hillsdale)

CLARION, Pa. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team started the 2016 season with two matches at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament hosted by Clarion University. The Warriors fell to the host Golden Eagles (3-1) before suffering a loss to Hillsdale College (3-0) to end the day.

The Basics
 Score: Clarion 3, Merrimack 1 (21-25 | 25-10 | 25-14 | 25-23)
Score: Hillsdale 3, Merrimack 0 (25-19 | 25-9 | 25-12)
Records: Merrimack (0-2) | Clarion (1-0) | Hillsdale (1-0)
Location: Tippin Gymnasium | Clarion, Pa.

How It Happened (Clarion)

  • 1st Set – The Navy and Gold started the season off hot, prevailing in the opening frame by a 25-20 margin. Junior Christina Nye (Plaistow, N.H.) debuted as the Warriors new libero, while senior setter Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.) finished the first set with 14 assists as the Merrimack hitters attacked at a clip of .297
  • 2nd set – Clarion, the hosts of the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament, roared back to even the match with a 25-10 win.
  • 3rd set – Outside of the opening point, the Golden Eagles did not relinquish the lead in the third frame. The Warriors posted a .227 hitting percentage in the frame, only committing four errors
  • 4th set – Using a 9-2 run, Merrimack took a 11-6 lead early on in the fourth set. Junior Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) totaled a pair of service aces and freshman Julia Stewart (Melville, N.Y.) knocked down two kills during the run. Keyed by a 5-0 run midway through the set, Clarion took the lead back and triumphed by a 25-23 margin

How It Happened (Hillsdale)

  • 1st set – The Warriors jumped up to a 5-2 advantage over the Chargers, who entered the opening weekend receiving votes in the first American Volleyball Coaches' Association (AVCA) poll of the season. The Chargers used a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead after facing a 9-7 deficit, and ended the frame on a 5-1 run to collect the 25-19 win
  • 2nd set – The Chargers proved why their among programs vying for a national ranking with a 7-0 run in the early stages of the middle set, leading to a set victory and 2-0 match lead
  • 3rd set – Merrimack, after facing an early 3-0 hole, forced a Chargers timeout following a service ace from Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.) and a kill from Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) that gave the Warriors a 8-6 lead. Hillsdale rallied for there, winning 19 of the final 23 points to take the match

Inside The Numbers

  • Catherine Flaherty (North Andover, Mass.) and Stewart, two of Merrimack's six rookies, started in their first career matches to kick off the three-day tournament. Flaherty particularly impressed in the opening match, posting nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage
  • Stewart led the Warriors with 15 kills on the day, followed by McCall and Flaherty with 14 and 10, respectively. The Long Island native also added 16 digs, the long Warrior with at least 10 kills and 10 digs on the day
  • Stuhr debuted with a 36-assist performance against Clarion and added 10 digs for the first double-double of her senior campaign
  • Suiting up in the libero jersey for the first time in her career, Nye totaled a team-high 19 digs on the day. She entered her junior year on the heels of a 200-dig campaign as a sophomore
  • Sophomore Amanda Cain (Melrose, Mass.) appeared in six of the seven sets on Friday, collecting eight of her 12 digs against the Chargers. Freshmen Kaylie Doherty (Westborough, Mass.) and Rosie Sperduto (Brentwood, Tenn.) also debuted for the Navy and Gold

Up Next
 The Warriors conclude play at the Banner Memorial Invite on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. when they take on Gannon University.

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