Women's Volleyball Splits Two Matches on Final Day of Wilmington Tournament

Women's Volleyball Splits Two Matches on Final Day of Wilmington Tournament

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Links: Box Score (Wilmington) | Box Score (Dominican

NEWARK, Del. – The Merrimack College women's volleyball team split its final two matches of the Wilmington University Tournament on Sunday afternoon, defeating Dominican (N.Y.) College, 3-0, in the final match of the day. The Warriors lost to the host Wildcats, 3-0, to open up play in the morning as their record now sits at 3-5 entering Northeast-10 Conference play.

The Basics
 Score: Merrimack 0 | Wilmington 3
Score: Merrimack 3 | Dominican 0
Records: Merrimack (3-5) | Wilmington (7-4) | Dominican (1-12)
Location: Wilmington University Athletics Complex| Newawk, Del.

How It Happened
 The day began from the Warriors with a contest against the host Wildcasts from the CACC. Wilmington started the frame by winning five of the first seven points. A service ace from junior setter Tara Stuhr (Huntington Beach, Calif.) cut it to a one-point deficit at 8-7, but the Wildcats answered with a 4-0 spurt. The hosts held on from there winning the set, 25-17.

The second set started better for the Warriors. Consecutive kills from junior outside hitter Jennifer Cain (Melrose, Mass.) gave the visitors a three-point advantage, 12-9, but another 4-0 run for Wilmington swung the set in its favor at 13-12. The Wildcats did not relinquish the lead the rest of the way. A kill form Juliette McCall (Torrance, Calif.) made it a two-point set late in the frame, 23-21, but Wilmington won the last two points to take a 2-0 lead.

It was more of the same in the final frame, as Wilmington utilized a 10-4 run in the middle of the set to turn a 9-7 advantage into a 19-11 lead. The Wildcats went on to win the final set by the same score as the second, 25-21, and sweep the Warriors. Sophomore Mary Kate McCarroll (Harrison, Ohio) finished with a team-high 10 kills while McCall contributed nine with only two errors on 25 total attacks. Stuhr totaled 31 assists while senior libero Madison Burke (San Jose, Calif.) led the team with 20 digs.

In their final match of the tournament, the Warriors fared better against the Chargers of the Dominican. The highlight of the first set came 10-0 run for the Warriors and 11-1 spurt to end the set as Merrimack turned a 17-14 deficit into a 25-18 victory. McCall recorded the final three kills of the set to put the Navy and Gold in front.

The Warriors also mounted a comeback in the second frame. Dominican led the entire way, including a 20-16 advantage late in the set, but the Warriors started to turn things around. Merrimack won seven of the next eight points helped by four attacking errors from the Chargers. Dominican battled back to tie the set at 23-all, but then committed consecutive errors to hand Merrimack the 25-23 win.

Outside of the 1-0 deficit to begin the third set, the Warriors led coast-to-coast in the final frame. An early 5-0 run that included kills by Cain and McCall increased Merrimack's lead to 9-3. Dominican fought back to tie the set at 15-all, but the Navy and Gold responded with 10-0 run to end the set and secure their first three-set victory of the season.

Cain finished with 13 kills to lead Merrimack while McCall's 12 included the match-winning kill. McCarroll finished three kills shy of reaching double digits for the third straight match, but did not commit an error for an impressive .467 hitting percentage. Stuhr paced Merrimack with 32 assists while Burke totaled a team-high 16 digs.

Inside The Numbers

  • Throughout the tournament the Warriors relied on multiple attacking threats. McCall led the team over the three matches with 34 kills, with Cain slotting right behind her with 33. McCarroll also joined her teammates with at least 30 kills as all three players averaged at least 10 per match
  • McCall continues to post effective hitting percentages in her junior season. Sunday against Dominican marked fourth time in eight matches that the third-year player has posted an attack percentage of at least .250. Her .375 mark against the Chargers set a new season high
  • Burke, along with freshman Sofia Basauri (Beaverton, Ore.), tied for the team lead with four service aces
  • Stuhr joined Burke in double digits with 10 digs, the fourth time this year the junior has notched at least 10 digs in a match which was good for her fourth double-double of 2015

Up Next
 The Navy and Gold begin conference play while also playing in their home opener on Tuesday night against Bentley from Hammel Court. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.

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For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.

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