Box Score
Sophomore Anisa Smith (Moraga, Calif.) was key to a balanced effort, totaling eight kills and a career-high six blocks, as UMass Lowell volleyball defeated Mercy College, 3-1, on Friday night in the Costello Gym.

“We had a couple of changes and there were going to be adjustments—and there were—and it cost us a couple of points, but I thought we did well,” said head coach Karen McNulty. “When we lost control of passing and we lost control of the net, we lost the set. Overall though, we did some nice things: we got some good swings and we had some good serves.”

The River Hawks (4-4) will have little time to savor the win as they head to Waltham, MA on Saturday for a pair of matches in the NE-10/ECC Challenge against Dowling (10 AM) and LIU Post (1 PM). The Mavericks (2-7) will also head to the NE-10/ECC Challenge to face tournament host Bentley (10 AM) and Merrimack (3 PM).

UMass Lowell looked strong from the start, taking the opening set 25-16 behind six kills from sophomore Ella Merrill (Bermuda Dunes, Calif.). Classmate Sierra Brown (San Diego, Calif.) was red hot as well, serving the River Hawks to the final five points, including three consecutive aces.

The second set went in similar fashion as UMass Lowell picked up a 25-17 win. Merrill slammed home four more kills while Brown had three of her own. The Mavericks proved to be their own worst enemy, committing nine attacking errors in the frame.

Mercy College came alive in the third to take a 12-25 decision with an explosive performance from Brenna White (Gardnerville, Nev.) who tallied eight kills. For the River Hawks, junior Carolyn Eddy (Dracut, Mass.) managed three kills and three digs.

The River Hawks regained control in the fourth and never trailed as they sealed the match with a 25-16 victory. Smith scored five kills to lead the way and the River Hawks hit .393 as the team.

Mercy's White led all scorers with 23 kills in the match, but only one other Maverick player recorded more than four kills.

Merrill and Brown led the way for UMass Lowell, hitting 11 and 10 kills respectively. Brown also served four aces and had four blocks. Smith was an outstanding two-way weapon, tallying eight kills and a career-high six blocks.

Senior Kristina Wiltjer (Temecula, Calif.) and junior Olivia Parkins (Dracut, Mass.) both saw time at setter. Wiltjer dished out 16 assists and three digs, while Parkins had 14 assists and five digs.