Sept. 13, 2011

Box Score

The River Hawk volleyball squad dropped a 3-2 decision at American International on Tuesday night.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak, dropping UMass Lowell to 4-3 on the season, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 2-7.

"AIC is a good team and they played us tough tonight," said head coach Karen McNulty. "I'm glad we fought back, but we didn't execute. There were some frustrations, but overall we had some people do some nice things and we'll build on that."

The River Hawks battled back-and-forth with American International in the opening set. With the score knotted at 22-22, UMass Lowell pulled away for the victory with two kills by Lea Freeman (Methuen, Mass.) and an ace by Sierra Brown (San Diego, Calif.). Reigning Northeast-10 Setter of the Week Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.) kept up her torrid pace with 10 assists and six digs.

The Yellow Jackets fought back in the second set, sinking the River Hawks into a 4-15 hole at the start. UMass Lowell couldn't overcome the step deficit and fell 15-25 despite four kills by Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.).

The River Hawks fell again in a tightly contested third set, 22-25. Freshmen Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) and Brown scored four and three kills, respectively.

Facing a momentum swing in the Yellow Jackets' favor, UMass Lowell bounced back in the fourth set, climbing out to a 5-0 lead. The River Hawks' lead slowly evaporated, but the club pulled out a 26-24 victory. As the set crept towards extend play, Peterson and Smith combined for five of UMass Lowell's final seven points.

With the match hanging in the balance, American International outpaced the River Hawks 3-9 to start the fifth set. UMass Lowell kicked the offense into gear, but it proved too late as it ultimately fell 10-15.

For the night, Peterson led a balanced attack with a career-high 14 kills and seven digs. Freeman followed close behind with 13 kills, while Hannah Rey (San Diego, Calif.) and Smith each scored 12.

Setting up the offense was Wiltjer with a season-best 46 assists and 13 digs--her fifth double-double of the year. Aiding in the passing game was libero Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) who recorded a season-high 21 digs.

Despite the setback the River Hawks will look to return to their winning ways on Saturday. UMass Lowell visits Southern New Hampshire at 4 p.m.