Oct. 16, 2009

Box Score

The UMass Lowell volleyball team dropped three consecutive sets on Friday night to fall to conference leading New Haven. The River Hawks were led by Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, MA) who compiled 13 kills and two blocks.

The match scores were 16-25, 24-26 and 22-25.

The loss drops UMass Lowell to 13-8 overall and 6-3 in the Northeast-10. The Chargers improve to 17-4 on the season and 8-0 in conference play.

The River Hawks struggled in the first set as they hit just .048 and managed only 16 points. New Haven took advantage of UMass Lowell's miscues and won the set swiftly, 25-16.

The second set started similar to the first, but the River Hawks played with a great deal of energy to keep the score close. As the set wound down, senior Elsa LeGrand (Highlands Ranch, CO) pushed the team to three straight points with well placed serves and an ace to draw the score to 20-21. Despite the comeback, UMass Lowell fell in extras 24-26.

Down 0-2, the River Hawks tried to force a comeback with inspired play by Coscia and LeGrand. The pair notched several kills to keep UMass Lowell within striking distance, but time ran out as the Chargers closed out the match.

Senior Allie Eide (Gresham, OR) dug a match-high 13 balls, while Vicky Wong (Tewksbury, MA) earned 11 digs to go with two aces. Junior Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, CA) notched seven kills and a team-best .294 attack percentage. Senior Nichole Rondeau (Dracut, MA) quarterbacked the UMass Lowell offense with a team-high 26 assists while also digging five balls.

The River Hawks will look to bounce back quickly as they travel to Southern Connecticut St. tomorrow for a 7 p.m. match.