Links: Box Score
COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball program equaled its most five-set wins in a season since 2014 on Thursday night when the Warriors rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win, 3-2, at Saint Michael's from the Ross Sports Center. The Warriors improved to 3-3 in Northeast-10 Conference play with the win, the program's best start to league play since 2016.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 3, Saint Michael's 2
Set Scores: 25-23 | 19-25 | 22-25 |
25-11 | 15-7
Records: Merrimack (5-13, 3-3 NE10) | Saint Michael's (0-10, 0-5 NE10)
Location: Ross Sports Center | Colchester, Vt.
Set Breakdown
- The Warriors hit .312 as a unit in the opening set to take a 1-0 lead. Facing a 16-12 hole, Merrimack used a 9-2 run to turn the tide in the set, a spurt that featured two kills and one block assist each for freshman Sophie Meyers and senior Sofia Basauri. The Purple Knights recovered to tie the set, 21-21, but the Warriors won four of the final six wins to claim the set, winning on a kill by freshman Kayla Zinser
- The second set was evenly matched through the early portion, with the hosts holding an 11-9 lead through 20 points. The Purple Knights extended their advantage from there, building a 20-15 lead. Meyers and senior Amanda Cain recorded back-to-back points to cut Merrimack's deficit to three, but Saint Michael's ended the game on a 5-2 stretch to even the match
- Facing a 10-all deadlock in the third, Merrimack won eight of the next 13 points to open an 18-15 advantage capped by a kill for junior Catherine Flaherty. The Purple Knights responded with a 6-0 run, and never conceded the advantage en route to a 25-22 set triumph
- Merrimack dominated the fourth set, seeing Saint Michael's hit -.086 to force a final frame. The Warriors started the frame on an 8-2 run, and saw Flaherty reach doubles figures in both kills and digs. Merrimack extended the advantage to 19-9, and won the final three points of the set to force the Warriors' third five-set match of league play
- Senior Katelynn Marr smashed three kills to the court to guide Merrimack to a 5-2 start to the final set. Saint Michael's pulled within two, 8-6, only to see the Warriors end the night on a 7-1 stretch. Flaherty recorded the night's final point, finishing with 14 kills
Top Performers
- Similar to Saturday's win against Saint Anselm, both Flaherty and Marr finished with double-doubles. The former tied her career best and set a season high with 17 digs, while adding a match-high 14 kills. The latter finished second on the team with 11 kills and contributed 11 digs
- Cain led the team with 19 digs, her third match over the last four with at least 19. The senior is averaging 4.04 digs per set in six league matches
- Junior Sydney Buran led the way from the setting position with 35 assists
- Multiple freshmen starred for the Warriors Thursday. Meyers totaled nine kills on 23 attacks with one error, and led all players for four blocks on the evening. Freshman Natasha Vallis appeared in her first match in nearly a month, hitting at a .455 clip with six kills. Classmate Megan Rumenapp made her collegiate debut, nearly totaling a double-double with nine helpers and seven digs
Notes and Notables
- Cain established a new career best in digs, finishing the night with 224 digs this year through 18 matches. Her previous career high was 212, set last season as a junior
- Merrimack committed just 13 errors, one shy of its season low. Those 12 miscues, however, came over three frames
- The Warriors established a new season best with a .275 hitting percentage, finishing with 55 kills on 153 attacks
- With 50 total helpers, it marked the third time this season Merrimack totaled at least 50 in a match
- The 3-3 NE10 ledger marks the program's best NE10 start since winning three of its first six matches in 2016
- Merrimack's 3-0 record is the best for the squad since finishing the 2014 year with a 3-1 mark in contests that went the distance
Up Next
The Warriors will be off until next Friday night, Oct. 12, when Merrimack welcomes Assumption to Hammel Court for a 6 p.m. match.
