Erin Johnson landed 16 kills to lead the Stonehill attack.

Johnson, Noonan pace Skyhawks to NE-10 victory

RINDGE, N.H. (October 20, 2010) – Stonehill College claimed a 3-1 victory (25-13, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17) over host Franklin Pierce University in a Northeast-10 volleyball matchup Wednesday night.

Seniors Erin Johnson (Centerville, Mass./Barnstable) and Laura Noonan (Hampstead, N.H./Bishop Guertin) set the tone for Stonehill on offense, as Johnson landed a game-high 16 kills with a .333 attack percentage and Noonan recorded 12 kills at a .308 clip. Four Skyhawks recorded double figures in digs, led by junior Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) with 23 digs, and senior Justine Thompson (Merrimack, N.H./Bishop Guertin) with 20. Senior setter Andrea Wirth (Mesa, Ariz./St. Mary's) dished out 35 assists and collected 13 digs.

After opening the match with a decisive 25-13 win in the first set, Stonehill slipped in the second game for a 25-21 setback. The Skyhawks began the third set on a 6-0 run behind two kills from freshman Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas/Hutto) to regain momentum, and Johnson put down four kills and chipped in a block assist to put Stonehill up 2-1 after three games.

In the final set, with the score knotted at 14-14 midway through, the Skyhawks rallied to take 11 of the next 14 points, sparked by two kills from Johnson. Noonan and freshman Kirsten Arvidson (Andover, Mass./Andover) each added a kill and a block assist late in the game to wrap up a 25-17 fourth-set victory.

Stonehill (9-10, 7-3 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday in a tri-match with Millersville University and host East Stroudsburg University, beginning at 3 p.m.