WILKES BARRE, Pa. – Visiting Morrisville State College women's volleyball fought through a tight three set battle with host Wilkes University Friday afternoon, collecting the 3-0 match win over the hosts in the first round of the Colonel Clash held in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Morrisville State upped their record to 18-3 overall, and meet regionally ranked (7) Kean University in the 8 p.m. match scheduled in Wilkes.
Morrisville State trailed by four midway through the opening set before putting together a seven point rally that included three service aces by Megyan Merrill (Millport, N.Y.) to claim a 20-16 advantage.
The Mustangs closed out the set down the stretch with a kill by Helena Hanes (St. Mary's, Pa.), collecting the win with their strong presence at the net with the double block from Hanes and Kirsten Florio (Wellsboro, Pa.) for the 25-23 win.
Morrisville State took a two set lead over Wilkes with a 25-21 win in the second, withstanding a late host rally and taking advantage of two straight attacking errors by the Colonels in the victory.
Playing to a tight back and forth battle through the first nine points of the third set, Morrisville State used three straight service aces by Samantha Wolf (Liverpool, N.Y.) to pull ahead by four. They extended their lead to as many as eight as Amelia Baratier (Liverpool, N.Y.) served up two additional Mustang aces while Merrill threw down one of her game total nine enroute to the 25-18 set, and 3-0 match win.
Merrill also added three aces and 12 defensive digs in her match tallies, while teammate's Elycia Crittenden (Louisville, Ky.) and Hanes collected six kills.
Hanes also added a match total 12 assists, including her 1,000th career tally that came on the Mustangs seventh point of the second set.
Kim Dunkleman (Williamsville, N.Y.) added 13 assists, while defensively, Wolf posted a team high 21 digs. Florio finished with four total stops at the net, one solo and three assisted as Morrisville State registered nine total blocks in the match.
Morrisville State College's curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2018 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2018 Best Colleges rankings. For more information about Morrisville State College, visit www.morrisville.edu.
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