Oct. 6, 2010

Box Score

The UMass Lowell volleyball home unbeaten streak was snapped (3-1) by Stonehill College on Wednesday night in the Costello Gym. The River Hawks won the first set, but then dropped three straight to receive their seventh loss of the season.

"We lacked discipline in a couple of key areas and we will be working on that," said head coach Karen McNutly. "This is a tough month. All of our conference games are this month and you just have to move onto the next."

With the unpleasant result, UMass Lowell falls to 8-7 on the campaign and 3-2 in conference play. The Skyhawks climb closer to .500 as they improve to 6-7 overall, while remaining perfect in Northeast-10 action (4-0).

The River Hawks came out firing with a 25-15 victory in the first set. The UMass Lowell offense was on target, as both Vicky Wong (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Jillian Hadder (Yucaipa, Calif.) had three kills. The Skyhawks also did their part with four service errors.

The good fortune turned in the second set with Stonehill taking a 22-25 victory. UMass Lowell got down 11-21, but battled back to a 20-22 score to grab the support of the home crowd. Despite the rally, the Skyhawks put the set away with strong output from Laura Huselton (Penfield, N.Y.) who had five kills. Senior Sarah Coscia (Pittsfield, Mass.) did her part, landing four kills for the River Hawks.

The feeling of Groundhog Day struck the gym as Stonehill jumped out to a quick lead again in set three, only for UMass Lowell to battle right back. The Skyhawks took a 22-25 win behind a balanced attack and seven errors from the River Hawks.

With momentum on its side, Stonehill cruised to a 16-25 victory to seal the match in the fourth frame. Coscia landed four more kills, but the Skyhawk offense went into overdrive with 15 kills and a .353 attack percentage to squash any comeback attempt.

For the match Coscia tallied 18 kills and three blocks, while Hadder recorded 11 kills and nine digs. The pair was set up offensively by Kristina Wiltjer (San Diego, Calif.) who tallied 35 assists and nine digs.

Defensively, UMass Lowell leaned on freshman Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) who dug a match-high 25 balls. Wong also reached double-figures with 12 digs.

The River Hawks have a week off to rest and refuel before they leave for Rindge, NH to face Franklin Pierce on Oct. 13 at 7 PM.