NORTH EASTON, Mass. — Mercyhurst lost to Stonehill 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 5-15) on Friday. The Lakers hit .438 in the fourth set and used an 8-0 run to push the match to a fifth, but Stonehill won the final set 15-5.
The Lakers erased an 11-8 deficit in the opening set, using a
Julia Shepherd kill and three Stonehill attack errors to move in front 12-11 before
Madison Miner added a kill for a 13-12 edge. Earlier,
Anna Logan and
Ava Carney opened the set with kills from
Alyssa Krause, and Miner helped Mercyhurst stay even through the early exchanges. The teams traded points through the middle of the set, with Shepherd and
Aliyah Angelici adding kills as the Lakers moved ahead 18-17 and later stayed level at 19-19. Stonehill answered with three straight points to go up 22-19, and although Carney's kill and a Stonehill error brought the Lakers within 22-21, Stonehill took the set 25-22.
Mercyhurst recovered from Stonehill's mid-set surge and finished the second set with a four-point burst to win 25-20. The Lakers scored the first six points, starting with a Logan kill before Krause served five straight points, including an ace and a Carney kill. Stonehill answered later with five straight points to move ahead 14-12, but the Lakers responded after a service error as
Mia Mattingly delivered back-to-back aces and the Lakers moved in front 16-14.
Payton Melin added a kill and Krause served another ace to help Mercyhurst reach 18-15, and after Stonehill cut the margin to 21-20, Mattingly, Melin, Logan and
Mya Comer contributed to the closing sequence that sealed the set.
The Lakers nearly erased a late five-point gap in the third set, answering Stonehill's 23-18 lead with kills from Carney and Shepherd to pull within 23-22. Earlier, Miner, Shepherd, Mattingly, Melin, Carney and Logan all had kills as the Lakers stayed within reach through a set that was tied at 8-8, 9-9 and 11-11. Stonehill created separation after the Lakers had cut the margin to 19-18, using a kill and three Mercyhurst attack errors to move ahead 23-18. The Lakers kept pressing after a service error made it 24-23, but Abby Farrell's kill closed Stonehill's 25-23 set win.
The Lakers broke open the fourth set with eight straight points, turning a 12-8 lead into a 20-8 advantage. Earlier, Logan opened the set scoring with a kill, Shepherd and Carney combined on two blocks, and
Sydney Forcht added an ace as the Lakers built separation in the first part of the set. The decisive stretch continued after Shepherd's kill made it 13-8, with Logan serving seven straight points that included two aces, two Shepherd kills and multiple Stonehill errors. After Stonehill answered with three points, Mercyhurst closed the set with kills from Shepherd and Mattingly before a Stonehill attack error finished the 25-13 set win.
The Lakers could not overcome an early Stonehill surge in the fifth set, as the home side moved from a 4-2 lead to 11-2 with seven straight points. Carney put the Lakers on the board with a kill from Krause, and the Lakers later stopped the run on
Mia Mattingly's kill from Krause. Melin followed with a kill from Comer to bring Mercyhurst to 11-4, and another Stonehill service error made it 12-5. Stonehill scored the final three points, closing the set at 15-5.
Shepherd led the Lakers with 13 kills and 14 points, adding two blocks. Logan recorded 10 kills while hitting .444 and added three service aces and nine digs. Krause finished with 28 assists, 11 digs and two aces. Miner led the team with 14 digs and added eight kills.
The Lakers return to the court when they play Stonehill on Oct.10. Coverage is set to begin at 1 p.m.
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