Links: Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball program opened its eight-match home slate on Thursday evening by hosting Saint Anselm in a non-conference duel from Hammel Court. The Warriors fell behind by two sets, but battled back-and-forth with the Hawks in the third before the visitors rallied to win the frame, 27-25, and take the match in three.
The Basics
Score: Saint Anselm 3,
Merrimack 0 (25-17, 25-18, 27-25
)
Records: Merrimack (2-8) | Saint Anselm (8-4)
Location: Hammel Court | North Andover, Mass.
Set Breakdown
- Set 1: After a kill from junior Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.) tied the opener at eight-all, the Hawks used a 6-0 run to pull ahead. Highlighted by kills from junior Katelynn Marr (Franklin, Mass.) and an ace from sophomore Rosie Sperduto (Beaverton, Ore.), Merrimack won five of six points late in the frame to pull within six, 22-16. Saint Anselm recovered, however, to win three of the next four and claim the first game
- Set 2: A 9-2 stretch early in the second frame staked the Hawks to a six-point advantage (11-5). The Navy and Gold proved resilient again, cutting their deficit down to four at 22-18 behind points from freshman Karina Anderson (Newbury Park, Calif.), senior Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) and sophomore Sydney Buran (Cohoes, N.Y.). The visitors answered with three unanswered points to double their lead, 2-0
- Set 3: Merrimack played its best in the third frame. Consecutive aces from Marr made it an 8-5 game in favor of the hosts, and despite Saint Anselm rallying to deadlock the set at 13-all, McCarroll and Marr responded with kills to put the Warriors back in front, 15-13. With the visitors trailing by one (22-21), a service error followed by an ace from junior Amanda Cain (Melrose, Mass.) gave the Warriors their first set point of the night. From there, the Hawks used a 4-0 run to extend the match before prevailing, 27-25
Team Leaders (MC // STA)
Notes and Notables
- Buran and Sperduto split setting duties for the Warriors on Thursday. The duo of second-year athletes combined for 27, with Buran leading the team with 14. That total marked a new career high for the Cohoes native
- Cain took over from Nye as libero in the third set, with the latter moving to play on the outside. The defensive pairing combined for 15 digs
Up Next
The Navy and Gold will return home tomorrow afternoon to host Stonehill in the Warriors' first home Northeast-10 Conference match at 4 p.m. from Hammel Court.
