Sophomore Laura Huselton posted a double-double effort of 13 kills and 14 digs tonight for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill Downs Bentley, 3-1

Balanced attack helps Skyhawks erase first set defeat

Boxscore 

EASTON, Mass. (September 29, 2009) - Stonehill College notched just its third win over Bentley University in 44 attempts with a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22) triumph in Northeast-10 Conference volleyball action at Merkert Gymnasium tonight.

Stonehill used a balanced effort all around as three players notched double-figure kills and four collected double-figure digs as the Skyhawks notched their fifth-straight win. Stonehill rebounded from a first set defeat and rolled to a 25-18 win in set two, leading by as much as 12 points (20-8), before grinding out set three and then scored the first four points of the fourth and made it stand the rest of the way to claim the match.

Junior Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) engineered the win for Stonehill as she collected 45 assists, setting up four hitters with nine or more kills. Sophomore Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) posted a double-double effort as she led the attack with 13 kills to go with 14 digs. Junior Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) registered 11 kills with just two hitting errors on 24 total attacks for a .375 hitting percentage, while classmate Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.Y./Bishop Guertin) also notched 11 kills to go with two block assists.

Junior Laura Noonan chipped in with 11 kills and two block assists.

Sophomore Michelle Thornhill (Canyon Lake, Calif./Temescal Canyon) added nine kills, 14 digs and four service aces, while junior Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) and freshman Erin Kelly (Tinley Park, Ill./Marist) chipped in with 19 and 14 digs, respectively.

Senior Alex Kearney (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) led Bentley with ten kills, 14 digs and two block assists. Junior Kelly Mee (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock) dished out 35 assists to go with nine digs, four kills, three aces and three blocks, while senior Cassie Kraft (New Braunfels, Texas/St. Mary's Halls) collected 17 digs.

Stonehill scored the first four points of the fourth set and opened a 9-2 lead after a Thornhill service ace. The Skyhawks lead was still seven (16-9) after a Bentley hitting error, but the Falcons closed the gap to 20-19 after four-straight Stonehill hitting errors and a service ace from senior Kristine Mickelson (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch). The Skyhawks recovered after a timeout, trading points until Thornhill put Stonehill up two (24-22) with a kill before closing the match out with an ace off the top of the net.

The third set was nip and tuck the whole way until back-to-back Bentley attack errors, one on a Stonehill block, gave the Skyhawks a two point cushion late (23-21) and Johnson added a kill before another Falcon hitting error capped the set off for Stonehill.

Stonehill (8-4, 3-0 NE-10) is right back in action on Thursday night when it continues its four-match home stand against American International College at Merkert Gym at 7 p.m. Bentley (8-6, 3-2 NE-10) hosts Assumption College on Friday at 7 p.m.