Huskies Travel to St. Joseph's on Thursday

            BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine volleyball team dropped a pair of heartbreaking non-conference matches Saturday falling to the University of New England 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 26-24, 22-25, 15-12) and Maine Maritime Academy 3-1 (25-22, 28-26, 18-25, 27-25) at UNE's Harold Alfond Forum.

            In the final match of the day, UNE was forced into a fifth set before defeating Maine Maritime 3-2 (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 18-25, 21-19).  The two wins improved UNE's overall mark to 11-7.  Maine Maritime is now 13-6 after splitting its two matches.  The Huskies dropped to 11-8 overall with the two losses. 

Match One

            The Huskies and Nor'easters played five, hard-fought sets before the Nor'easters prevailed.  All five sets were decided by either two or three points.

            In the opening set, the Nor'easters took eight of the final 11 points to rally from a 19-17 deficit to win 25-22.  The Huskies turned the tables on the Nor'easters in the second set taking five consecutive points to rally for a 25-23 win.  The teams went into extra time on the third set before the Nor'easters won consecutive points to take the verdict 26-24.

            Down five points (19-14) in the fourth set, the Huskies took seven straight points to gain the momentum (21-19).  The teams traded points until the Huskies took the set 25-22 on a service ace.  In the decisive fifth set, the teams were tied 10-10 when the Nor'easters took four straight points to gain the upper hand.

            Sophomore Nicole Schmitz (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham) had a triple-double for the Huskies knocking down 10 kills, passing out 25 assists and digging up 11 balls.  Junior Jess Williamson (Goffstown, N.H.) had a match-high 19 kills and 13 digs for a double-double, senior co-captain Megan Nilson (Granby, Conn.) dished out 33 assists and had 20 digs for a double-double, and rookie Faolain Harrington (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) contributed 10 kills and 13 digs for her first career double-double.

            Two UNE players finished the match with double-doubles.  Junior setter Kristen Falcinelli (Silver Spring, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) passed out 47 assists and had 11 digs, and rookie Maddy Blake (Brookline, N.H./Hollis Brookline) had a team-high 16 kills and 16 digs. 

Match Two

            Against the Mariners, the Huskies fought back from an eight-point deficit in the opening set to get back within two points (22-20, 23-21) before falling 25-22.  In the second set, both sides had opportunities to win the set before senior Gillian O'Neal (Burbank, Calif./Village Christian) put down back-to-back kills to give the Mariners a 28-26 win.

            Southern Maine led throughout the third set to take a 25-18 win and force a fourth set.  The Huskies battled back in the final set to tie the score twice (24-24 and 25-25) before an O'Neal kill and a blocking point gave the Mariners the set 27-25, and the match.

            Williamson and Nilson had another double-double for the Huskies.  Williamson swung for 20 kills and had 13 digs while Nilson passed out 16 assists and had 15 digs.

            O'Neal paced the Mariners with 18 kills.  Sophomore Tess Clark (Spring, Texas/John Cooper School) complemented O'Neal up front with 15 kills.  Rookie Sydney Adams (Trumbull, Conn.) quarterbacked the Mariners with 30 assists and 11 digs. 

Up Next

            Southern Maine travels to Saint Joseph's College (Me.) on Thursday (7:00 p.m.) for its next event.  UNE will host Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday (7:00 p.m.).  Maine Maritime hosts Unity College on Wednesday (7:00 p.m.).

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