Ristow leads way with nine kills

Box Score

EASTON, Mass. (October 21, 2009) – Sophomore Laura Huselton led three players in double figures with 13 kills on Wednesday night as Stonehill posted a 3-0 victory over the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team in Northeast-10 Conference play at Merkert Gymnasium. Senior Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla.) led the way for Franklin Pierce with nine kills in defeat.

Stonehill swept through the match with set scores of 25-16, 25-21 and 25-22. With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-16 (3-6 Northeast-10), while Stonehill improves to 12-7 (7-3 Northeast-10) with the win.

Ristow led the way offensively for Franklin Pierce with three aces in addition to her nine kills, while sophomore Dana Rowinski (Dix Hills, N.Y.) added seven kills of her own and junior setter Pamela Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.) dished out 19 assists. Defensively, junior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.) led the Ravens with 14 digs, while Rowinski added 13 of her own. Senior Caitlynn Parnell (Medina, Texas) recorded a match-best three blocks (one solo).

For Stonehill, Huselton’s 13 kills led the way, while juniors Laura Noonan and Erin Johnson each picked up 10 kills of their own. Johnson committed just one error over 19 attacks to rack up a match-best .474 hitting percentage. The Skyhawk offense ran through the set of junior Andrea Wirth, who handed out a match-best 32 assists. Defensively, junior Justine Thompson led all players with 18 digs, while Wirth added 13 to complete her double-double. Noonan led Stonehill with a pair of block assists.

After taking the first set easily, Stonehill trailed for a large portion of the second set before staging a comeback. The Skyhawks collected nine of 11 points, including two kills and a block by Noonan and a trio of kills from Huselton, to turn a 16-13 deficit into a 22-18 lead on their way to the 25-20 victory. Stonehill’s second set was the highlight of the night for either team offensively, as the Skyhawks hit .341 with 18 kills and only three errors over 44 attacks.

The Skyhawks pulled the comeback trick again in the third set. After a side out gave them the ball with a 22-20 deficit, Wirth served out the final five points of the match, with the help of three kills by Johnson, to give Stonehill the 25-22 win and the 3-0 sweep.

The Ravens return to the court on Sunday, Oct. 25, when they travel to American International for a tri-match. Franklin Pierce will play AIC at 11 a.m. in a Northeast-10 Conference contest before taking on Millersville in a non-conference tilt at 1 p.m. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, Oct. 27 against Bentley at 7 p.m.