North Andover, Mass. - Freshman middle hitter
Anna Hafoka (Hurst, Texas/L.D. Bell) tallied a career-high 15 kills to lead the Le Moyne College volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Merrimack College on Friday night in Northeast-10 Conference action at Hammel Court.
Merrimack registered a 25-17 victory in the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match. After the teams split the first 20 points of the set, the Warriors tallied five points in a row to take control of the set. Following a split of the next 14 points, Merrimack closed out the set with the last three points.
Le Moyne evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-23 win in the second set. The Warriors opened the second set with the first five points and eight of the first nine. The Dolphins countered with four in a row and nine of the next 11 to even the set at 10 apiece. After falling down by two again, the Dolphins scored six of the next eight points to take a 16-14 lead. Merrimack countered with a 7-2 run to take a 21-18 edge. The Dolphins answered with a pair of 3-0 runs around a Merrimack point for a 24-22. After a Merrimack point to stay alive in the set, junior outside hitter
Natalie Casson (Kingman, Ariz./Kingman) ended the set with a kill.
The Dolphins took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-12 win in the third set. Le Moyne used a 13-2 run to turn a one-point lead into an 18-6 advantage. Merrimack got within 22-12 before the Dolphins scored the last three points of the set.
Le Moyne closed out the match with a 25-16 win in the fourth set. The Dolphins scored six of the first seven points of the set. After the Warriors got within 14-12, Le Moyne rattled off 10 of the next 12 points to pull away. Following two Merrimack points, the Dolphins took advantage of a Merrimack error for the final point.
Hafoka hit .387 en route to registering 15 kills for the second straight match, while adding six blocks and five digs. Casson recorded 14 kills and 12 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Sophomore setter
Kendall Corcoran (Fort Salonga, N.Y./Kings Park) directed the offense with 42 assists, while adding seven digs, four kills and two blocks. Freshman libero
Mikayla Porr (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) paced the defense with 16 digs, while freshman defensive specialist
Molly Gallagher (Schenectady, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) added 14 digs.
Jennifer Cain led the Warriors with a double-double of 13 kills and 15 digs, while Mary Kate McCarroll added 13 kills. Tara Stuhr paced the offense with 34 assists and added six digs and three blocks. Madison Burke led the defense with a match-high 24 digs, while Christina Nye tallied 12 digs and eight kills.
Le Moyne (16-7, 7-4 NE-10), which defeated Merrimack for the third time in four years after dropping the previous five matches, returns to action at home on Tuesday against Assumption College at 5:00 p.m.
