Nov. 5, 2011

Box Score

Sophomore Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.) tallied 12 kills to lead the River Hawks to an Northeast-10 Tournament berth with a 3-1 win against Le Moyne College on Saturday afternoon.

UMass Lowell volleyball improved to 12-9 on the year and 8-7 in conference action. The River Hawks now travel to New Haven, CN to take on the Chargers on Tuesday night in the NE-10 playoffs. The Dolphins had their season come to an end with the loss, dropping to 16-12 record overall and 6-9 mark in conference play.

Peterson took charge in the opening set, landing seven kills en route to a 26-24 victory. She was joined in the attack by Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) who scored four kills of her own. The set was knotted at 25-25, but a bad set by Morgan McDermott (Camillus, N.Y.) gave UMass Lowell the edge and Rey followed with a kill to capture the 1-0 lead.

Le Moyne fought back hard in the second to steal a 21-25 win. Rookie Sierra Brown (San Diego, Calif.) scored three kills, but the River Hawks only managed six total as a team.

The River Hawks came alive again in the third set, scoring 14 kills to gut out a 25-23 win. Freshman Ella Merrill (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) paced the offense with five kills, while setter Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.) tallied 11 assists and six digs. With the score locked at 23-23, Merrill finished off the set with a kill and an ace.

UMass Lowell jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth before steamrolling to a 25-14 match clinching victory. Senior Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.) led the charge with five kills, including the set's final kill, and Wiltjer tallied 10 assists.

For the match, Peterson totaled 12 kills and 11 digs. Freeman was close behind with eight kills, but led the match with seven total blocks--including five solo. Wiltjer picked up 30 assists and 16 digs from the setter position, while Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) had 13 digs at libero.

Prior to the match, UMass Lowell honored its two seniors: Freeman and Trina Carroll (Hampton, N.H.).