NEWARK, Del. – After suffering a four-set defeat to Wilmington University in its first day of competition at the Wildcat Invitational, the Merrimack College women's volleyball program defeated Chestnut Hill in five sets for its second victory over the Griffins in as many weeks, improving to 2-4 on the young season.
The Basics
Score (Match 1): Wilmington 3,
Merrimack 1 (
20-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-18)
Score (Match 2): Merrimack 3, Chestnut Hill 2 (22-25,
25-20, 25-20, 25-27,
15-11)
Records: Merrimack (2-4) | Wilmington (2-3) | Chestnut Hill (0-6)
Location: WU Athletics Complex | Newark, Del.
Set Breakdown (Wilmington)
- Set 1 – A 7-0 run the featured points from senior captains Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio), Christina Nye (Plaistow, N.H.) and junior Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.) catapulted Merrimack to a 13-8 lead. Wilmington pulled within two, 22-20, late in the frame but the Warriors ended the set with three unanswered points to grab a 1-0 lead
- Set 2 – The Wildcats won 13 of the first 15 points and 15 of the first 19 to establish control. The Navy and Gold went on a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to seven (21-14), but Wilmington used a 4-0 spurt to even the score
- Set 3 – Another prolonged Wilmington run (15-6) staked the Wildcats to a lead. The Warriors went on an 11-6 run of their own that included three kills from junior Katelynn Marr (Franklin, Mass.) that trimmed Wilmington's lead down to four (23-19), but that was as close as Merrimack got to tying things up
- Set 4 – A match of runs continued in the fourth with the Wildcats breaking a 5-5 deadlock with a 7-1 stretch. Two more kills from Marr were part of four straight points for Merrimack, but Wilmington's deficit did not drop below two. The Warriors turned a 22-13 deficit into a 22-18 frame, but the Wildcats scored the final three points to win the match
Set Breakdown (Chesnut Hill)
- Set 1 – After the Griffins got out to a 19-9 lead, Merrimack rallied to nearly overcome the deficit. The Warriors went on a 13-3 run to pull within one point, 23-22, behind three points apiece for McCarroll and sophomore Catherine Flaherty (North Andover, Mass.). Chestnut Hill, however, notched consecutive points to win the opener
- Set 2 – Aces from McCarroll and Nye headlined a 7-1 run to the start of the second frame, but Chestnut Hill answered with seven straight points to take an 8-7 lead. Junior Amanda Cain (Melrose, Mass.) led a Merrimack comeback with three aces during a 11-3 stretch that gave Merrimack command, pacing the Warriors to a 25-20 win
- Set 3 – The Navy and Gold broke a 12-all deadlock in the third set with an 8-3 run paced by a pair of points for McCarroll. After the Warriors used a timeout with a three-point lead (23-20), freshman Karina Anderson (Newbury Park, Calif.) brought the Navy and Gold to a set point with Merrimack prevailing on a Chestnut Hill error
- Set 4 – The fourth frame was tied on five occasions, with the Warriors rallying to knot the score at 19-19 with a 4-0 run. Marr's kill to make it 25-24 gave the Navy and Gold a set point, but the Griffins scored three unanswered to win 27-25 and force a fifth frame
- Set 5 – Merrimack called a pair of timeouts in the fifth set to halt Chesnut Hill momentum, but a 5-0 start to the frame allowed the Warriors to keep the Griffins at arm's length. McCarroll struck two kills to bring the Navy and Gold to a set point, with Flaherty striking the winner
Team Leaders (MC // WIL)
- Kills: Mary Kate McCarroll (11) // Brittany Ford (9)
- Assists: Rosie Sperduto (36) // Miranda Shaw (16)
- Digs: McCarroll (15) // Jenna Brown (21)
- Blocks: Two Tied (1) // Rebecca Rawlinson (7)
Team Leaders (MC // CHU)
- Kills: McCarroll (20) // Samantha Gelfan (15)
- Assists: Sperduto (49) // Kennedy Sutton (42)
- Digs: Nye (28) // Peyton Reno (24)
- Blocks: Flaherty (5) // Cassie Callahan (5)
Notes and Notables
- McCarroll's picked up two double-doubles on the day, including a career performance in the Chestnut Hill match the featured career highs in kills (20) and digs (15)
- Three Warriors posted double-digit kills – the most with at least 10 through six matches for the Warriors – including Flaherty's season-high 15
- Marr joined McCarroll with a double-double against the Griffins, the first of her career and a career-best 16 digs
- Sperduto finished Friday's finale as the third Warrior to double up, posting personal bests in assists (49) and digs (11)
Up Next
Merrimack competes in the final day of the Wildcat Invite tomorrow when the Warriors take on Holy Family University at 10 a.m. followed by a match with Jefferson University at 2 p.m.
