Stonehill Rallies Past Merrimack in Five Set Thriller

Thompson and Johnson lead Skyhawks to key road win in NE-10 opener

Junior Erin Johnson posted 15 kills with just one hitting error on 34 total attacks to lead Stonehill to a five-set win at Merrimack tonight.

Boxscore 

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (September 23, 2009) - Stonehill College rallied to win the last two sets to defeat Merrimack College, 3-2 (17-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11), in the Northeast-10 Conference volleyball opener for both at Volpe Complex tonight.

Stonehill closed the game out by forcing Merrimack into five hitting errors to close out  the decisive fifth set, getting two blocks in that stretch, as the Warriors finished hitting -.038 in the final set compared to .208 hitting for the Skyhawks who rallied from an 8-3 deficit in the stanza. Stonehill forced the fifth game by posting a 25-20 advantage in the fourth set, leading from start to finish and posting a .317 team hitting percentage in the process.

Junior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) and sophomore Michelle Thornhill (Canyon Lake, Calif./Temescal Canyon) led the way to victory for Stonehill. Johnson posted 15 kills with just one hitting error in 34 total attacks for a .412 hitting percentage to go with two blocks. Thornhill collected a match-high 18 kills, six digs and five blocks.

Sophomore Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) also compiled double-figure kills for the Skyhawks with 14 to go with 26 digs, while junior Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.H./Bishop Guertin) added 12 kills and five blocks. Junior setter Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) dished a season-high 58 assists to go with 15 digs, while classmate Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) chipped in with a match-high 27 digs.

Merrimack saw two players achieve double-doubles as junior Molly Cindric (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) led the way with 16 kills and 24 digs, while junior setter Elyse Lorenz (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) contributed 46 assists, ten digs, five kills and four blocks. Junior Megan Murray (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif./Trabuco Hills) tallied 15 kills, two service aces and five blocks, while classmate Alyssa Pickert (Tinley Park, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) chipped in a team-best 25 digs.

Stonehill finished with ten blocks on the night and hit .191 as a team, while Merrimack hit .145 with nine blocks.

Stonehill (6-4, 1-0 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday for its first home match of the season when it hosts Saint Anselm College for an NE-10 contest at 1 p.m. Merrimack (10-3, 0-1 NE-10) hosts Franklin Pierce University on Friday at 7 p.m.