North Easton, Mass. – The Le Moyne College volleyball team finished out their season series against the Stonehill Skyhawks on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins dropped the match, 2-3, with set scores of 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 26-28, 11-15 to move to 3-16 overall with a 2-5 record in conference play this season.
In set one, Le Moyne worked to an early 12-8 lead and recorded another five straight points to extend their lead to 19-14 midway through. Stonehill came back to rally and tie the set at 23 points apiece before a kill by sophomore outside hitter Jazmin Rodriguez (Madera, C.A. / Madera) and a bad set from the Skyhawks sealed it, 25-23, for the Dolphins.
The Dolphins played to another early lead in the second set, with a pair of kills from sophomore outside hitter Nina Salas (Austin, T.X. / McNeil) putting them up, 12-6. The Skyhawks were able to put together two four-point rallies to tie the set, 15-15, before registering four consecutive errors to put Le Moyne on top, 21-18 late in the set. The Dolphins were able to finish the set out with a 25-20 victory via one final kill from junior opposite hitter Branwyn Lupton (Napanee, O.N. / Napanee District Secondary School).
The third set began with a 5-0 lead from the Dolphins and the team was able to extend that lead to six at the 10-4 mark later on. A streak of five consecutive points from Stonehill late in the set put them ahead, 20-17, before they scored another three straight points to put the set out of reach and won the frame, 25-21.
The Skyhawks were able to extend their lead to four points at the 9-5 mark early in the fourth set before the Dolphins put together a pair of three-point rallies to take a 16-15 lead halfway through. Towards the end of the set, it was a back-and-forth battle with the Skyhawks claiming a 22-19 lead before Le Moyne struck for three consecutive points, including a kill by sophomore outside hitter Piper Hooey (Elmira, N.Y. / Elmira), to tie it at 22-22. Stonehill then reclaimed their lead and reached set point, 24-22, before the Dolphins registered another set of three straight points via two errors and a bad set to take a 25-24 lead. The Skyhawks eventually took the set, 28-26, after an attack error and kill by Kendra Sawyer.
The deciding fifth set kicked off with back-and-forth action between the two squads as they tied nine different times before the Skyhawks grabbed two straight points to take an 11-10 lead and registered the final four points to take the set and match, 15-11.
Salas registered a team-leading 16 kills for Le Moyne as Lupton added another 10 to finish in the double digits for the second-straight match. Senior setter/DS Haley Gerken (Buffalo, N.Y. / Frontier) led with 23 assists while sophomore setter Skylar Jehlen (Rochester, N.Y. / Churchville Chili) added another 18, as well. Junior libero/DS Haley Buescher (Toledo, O.H. / St. Ursula Academy) led the offense with four service aces while Jehlen tallied another three for the Dolphins.
On defense, sophomore libero/DS Brooke Menke (St. Louis, M.O. / Visitation Academy) led Le Moyne with 28 digs while Salas added 12 more against Stonehill. Freshman middle hitter Eiley Schneider (Ramsey, N.J. / Ramsey) registered the team's only block solo of the match while also leading with three block assists, one more than both Tasdelen and Rodriguez.
For the Skyhawks, Mia Bernardino led with 22 kills as Samantha Lloyd (14) and Emaline Ealey (10) followed closely behind. Kendra Sawyer led with 43 assists while Lloyed put up a team-high two service aces. Defensively, Suzanne Ponce led with 15 digs as Bernardino led with five block assists.
What's Next:
The Dolphins will return to Ted Grant Court for a pair of home NEC matches against Central Connecticut State next weekend, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 24-25.
