Audio Recap - The River Hawk Report

The River Hawk volleyball team earned redemption for an early season loss to rival Merrimack, beating the Warriors in four sets on Tuesday night. UMass Lowell was led by junior Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, MA) who exploded for 24 kills, three blocks and a .476 hitting percentage.

The match scores were 25-23, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-20.

With the win the River Hawks improve to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in conference play. The loss drops Merrimack to 12-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Northeast-10.

In a closely fought first set, UMass Lowell struggled to find an edge. After exchanging blows with the Warriors to a 21-21 draw, the River Hawks got a block from Coscia and Vicky Wong (Tewksbury, MA) that changed the momentum and propelled the 25-23 win.

The second set saw UMass Lowell with a slight lead throughout, but unable to put Merrimack away. Senior Elsa LeGrand (Highlands Ranch, CO) changed that with a thunderous kill to land the River Hawks a 21-18 lead. LeGrand followed with back-to-back aces that gave UMass Lowell control and a 25-22 win in the second set.

The River Hawks slipped in the third set, finding themselves in a 0-4 hole to start. Unable to get an edge, they fell 21-25.

The final set went back and forth, resting at a 18-16 UMass Lowell lead. The River Hawks pulled off a 7-4 finish with monstrous kills by Wong and Coscia to secure the match.

In addition to Coscia, LeGrand and Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, CA) reached double-digit kills with 10 each. Four players dug double-digit ball as Wong, Hadder, Allie Eide (Gresham, OR) and LeGrand had 20, 13, 12 and 10, respectively. Senior setter Nichole Rondeau (Dracut, MA) was all over the court, dishing out 45 assists and digging nine balls.

UMass Lowell will now prepare for two home matches this weekend. It hosts St. Rose on Saturday at 1 p.m., followed by a contest with LeMoyne at 1 p.m. on Sunday.