Box Score

UMass Lowell volleyball jumped out to a 2-0 lead over American International on Tuesday night, but the Yellow Jackets rallied to three consecutive wins to overtake the River Hawks in five sets in the Costello Gym.

"We were playing very well and the kids were excited, but you can't lose your focus," said head coach Karen McNulty.
"It's too bad, we had some outstanding efforts. When we play together like in the first two games, we're good, but you have to maintain that."

Serving as the Northeast-10 Conference opener, UMass Lowell slips to 3-4 overall this season and 0-1 in league play. Up next, the River Hawks will host Mercy on Friday at 7 PM. American International (6-4, 1-0 NE-10) returns home to host Stonehill on Friday at 4 PM.

UMass Lowell nabbed a 25-22 victory in the opening set behind four finesse kills from junior Brooke Peterson (Del Mar, Calif.). Classmate Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) also shined with seven assists, four digs, two kills and two service aces. The River Hawks were exceedingly accurate in the opener, hitting .355 and committing just one error.

Peterson was on the attack again in the second set, powering UMass Lowell to a 25-18 win to take a 2-0 lead. Junior Olivia Parkins (Dracut, Mass.) took the reins at setter this round, dishing out seven assists and digging three balls.

The River Hawks slipped in the third set, falling 20-25 as American International's Vanessa Ruiz (West Springfield, Mass.) scored seven kills. UMass Lowell's Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) did her best, landing four kills and digging four balls.

The surging Yellow Jackets took the fourth set 21-25 to knot the match at 2-2. Caitlin Connelly (Holbrook, N.Y.) led the charge this time for American International with five kills and eight digs. The River Hawks' Sierra Brown (San Diego, Calif.) had a strong fourth with four kills, while Smith tallied three kills, five digs and two blocks.

UMass Lowell couldn't quell the rally as the Yellow Jackets completed the comeback with a 4-15 match-clinching win in the fifth set. Connelly landed five more kills for American International as they hit .588 in the final frame.

Overall, Connelly led all scorers with 25 kills and 19 digs, while setter Kervelle Redhead (St. James, Trinidad) dished out 49 assists and dug 10 balls. Ruiz also finished with a double-double, landing 14 kills and 11 digs.

For the River Hawks, Smith shined in the loss with 12 kills and 14 digs—her first double-double of the season—to pair with four total blocks and three service aces. Peterson also cracked double figures with 10 kills and Ella Merrill (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.) had seven kills and 11 digs.

A pair of stout defenders in the middle, Jamie Muntz (West Hartford, Conn.) and Brown each picked up three blocks and nine kills.

Lastly, the setting duties were split between Eddy and Parkins, who recorded 25 and 21 assists respectively. Eddy nearly completed a triple-double with 25 assists, nine kills and nine digs.