Nov. 1, 2011

Box Score

Freshman Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) scored 11 kills and 14 digs, but it wasn't enough as the River Hawk volleyball squad fell in four sets at Stonehill College on Tuesday night.

UMass Lowell drops to 11-9 on the year and 7-6 in Northeast-10 action. The Skyhawks improve to 25-5 overall and 13-1 in conference play. With two regular season matches remaining, the River Hawks stay a half-game up on Bentley for the final NE-10 playoff spot.

The River Hawks trailed 15-17 in the opening set before Stonehill scored seven consecutive points en route to the 20-25 win. As the River Hawks attempted to forge a comeback, slashing the score to 20-23, Meaghan Lee (Hanover, Mass.) landed consecutive kills to put the set on ice. UMass Lowell's Rey shouldered the offense with six kills, while libero Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) dug five balls.

UMass Lowell bounced back in the second set, nabbing a 25-19 win. Leading 18-15, the River Hawks gutted out the victory despite hitting with just a .057 attack percentage. Olivia Parkins (Dracut, Mass.) set seven assists and served two aces to propel UMass Lowell.

The Skyhawks jumped out to a 5-12 lead as they raced to a 17-25 win in set three, led by Sydney Maxey (Hutto, Texas) who scored three of Stonehill's last four points. The River Hawks managed just eight total kills, including three by Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.).

UMass Lowell struggled in the fourth set, tallying more attack errors (nine) than kills (eight). Freeman led the charge once more, landing half of her team's kills. Stonehill's Lee scored two kills, sandwiched around a River Hawk error, to secure the 18-25 victory.

For the night, Rey and Freeman each reached double-digit kills with 11 and 10, respectively. Rey also recorded a team-high 14 digs.

Eddy shined in the match, digging 12 balls--her third consecutive match with double-digit digs. The setting duties were split between Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.) and Parkins. Wiltjer dished out 12 assists, while Parkins tallied 19.

Following tonight, the River Hawks will host St. Rose on Friday (7 PM) and Le Moyne on Saturday (1 PM) to close out the regular season.