NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (October 27, 2023) – The Stonehill College women's volleyball team fell in five sets, 3-2 (25-19, 15-25, 23-25, 25-15, 11-15), Friday night at Hammel Court against Merrimack College in a Northeast Conference matchup.

Stonehill (2-26, 2-8 NEC): 2

Merrimack (7-16, 6-4 NEC): 3

(25-19, 15-25, 23-25, 25-15, 11-15)

Skyhawk Summary

Freshman Lauren MacKellar (Northville, Mich./Northville) led the Skyhawks with nine kills and four solo blocks as she scored 14 points. Junior Emma Graves (Berkshire, N.Y./Newark Valley) had eight kills along with a team-high three block assists and one solo block. Senior Lauren McCloksey (Salem, N.H./Salem) matched Graves with 10.5 points, doing so with five kills, three block assists, two solo blocks, two service aces, and one assist. Junior Lindsey Pierson (Bedford, N.H./Bedford) had her most kills in a match since a Sept. 2 matchup with Holy Cross (6 kills). Freshman Amaya Parnell (Pepperell, Mass./Lincoln Sudbury) led Stonehill with 16 assists while notching a service ace and a dig. Freshman Maddie Schamaun (Rockville, Md./Wheaton) was close behind with 15 assists as well as eight digs, and a team-high four service aces. Senior Skylar Hanley (Griswold, Conn./Loomis Chaffee) recorded a match-high as well as a career-high 25 digs, also notching a service ace and an assist.

How it Happened

SET 1 | Stonehill scored three straight points after the two conference foes were tied 4-4 and eight of the next nine points, as the Skyhawks led 12-5. A 5-1 run from the Warriors brought Merrimack within three points, 13-10. Four consecutive points from the Skyhawks put them back up by seven for the second time in the set. Stonehill had their largest lead of eight points when kills from MacKellar and McCloskey notched kills to put them up 22-14. Merrimack responded with four straight points to cut their deficit in half (22-18), leading to a Stonehill timeout. The Skyhawks responded and won the first set 25-19 after a 3-1 run.

SET 2 | The second set began with a 5-5 tie before a 9-0 run from Merrimack gave them a 14-5 advantage. The Skyhawks never came within less than seven points as the Warriors consistently held their lead for the remainder of the second frame, winning 25-15.

SET 3 | The two teams found themselves tied nine different times with the score being 10-10 when the Warriors scored four straight points to go ahead 14-10. The Skyhawks responded and tied the score, 15-15, and tacked on three more points to take an 18-15 lead. Stonehill boosted their lead to four points, 22-18, but Merrimack scored seven of the final eight points in the set to take a 2-1 lead in the match, 25-23.

SET 4 | Merrimack jumped out to a 6-4 lead in the fourth set, but Stonehill rallied for five straight points to take a 9-6 lead. 11 of the next 14 points were in favor of the Skyhawks as they took their largest lead of the match, 20-9, late in the fourth set. The Warriors held their own but fell 25-15 in the frame as the two teams were slated for a fifth set.

SET 5 | With the match tied, the two teams didn't give an inch to start the tiebreaking set as the score remained tied at 6-6. Merrimack scored the next three points and held a slight advantage over the Skyhawks with Stonehill keeping their deficit to just two points, 13-11. The Warriors won the final set and the match with a 15-11 win after notching the final two scores.

Up Next

Stonehill volleyball is back in action at 5 p.m. next Friday, November 3, at Merkert Gymnasium for a Northeast Conference matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson.

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