The Stony Brook women’s volleyball team officially closed out nonconference play emphatically to win its fourth-straight match.
It was a pleasant trip to New Jersey for the Seawolves (8-9, 3-3 CAA), who made quick work of the Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Knights (4-15, 2-2 NEC) in a 3-0 sweep on Wednesday.
Stony Brook got off to a tough start in the opening set, as FDU jumped out to a 12-6 lead. The Seawolves looked to their stars to fuel a comeback, which they did. Outside hitter Leoni Kunz delivered three kills during a 10-3 run which gave her team a 16-15 lead. After that, both sides exchanged points, leading to two lead changes and a pair of ties.
Now tied at 24 apiece, FDU outside hitter Avery Bain attempted a kill but sent it too far beyond the back line. FDU head coach David Nguyen challenged the call, arguing that the ball was tipped by a Stony Brook defender. A service ace by Kunz then clinched the 26-24 win.
The second set had far less contention, as the Seawolves barreled out to a rather effortless 18-9 start. They leaned heavily on outside hitter Abby Stanwood and middle blocker Ayanna Pierre Louis, who each put up four kills. After three more kills from Stanwood and two from outside hitter Kali Moore, Stony Brook walked away from the second set with a 25-15 victory.
Fighting to stave off a sweep, the Knights got out to a sizable advantage in the third set, building a 12-5 lead on the strength of six attack errors by the Seawolves. However, a kill by Stanwood ended FDU’s hot stretch and jump-started a huge comeback. What followed Stanwood’s point was a 14-3 run, fueled by a trio of kills from Louis and a pair from Kunz.
Despite the newfound deficit, the Knights engineered an 8-3 run to eventually tie the set at 23. Stanwood gave the Seawolves the lead back with another kill which proved to be the go-ahead point, as Louis blocked FDU middle blocker Tatijana Fucka on the ensuing serve to secure the win and the sweep.
Head coach Kristin Belzung commended her team on their ability to focus on the match after not playing a midweek game since Sept. 6.
“I am proud of our team for locking in to get a midweek win during a time that is busy academically and it would be easy to be distracted,” Belzung said in a postgame interview with Stony Brook Athletics. “I thought while we weren’t as crisp as we would’ve liked to be, we served well which kept FDU out of the system and found ways to earn some gritty points.”
Stony Brook’s offense dominated FDU’s, as its .264 hitting percentage outclassed FDU’s .168. Louis led the team in that regard with a .533 hitting percentage and posted a career-high nine kills and 10 points. Stanwood led the team with 15 points on a .290 hitting percentage, and all of her scoring came from a career-high 15 kills. Kunz was the team’s second-leading scorer with 11.5 points.
Setter Torri Henry continued her strong play running the offense, totaling 38 assists. She now leads the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) in assists (674) and assists per set (10.87). Henry also led the squad with 13 digs, narrowly edging out Kunz, who had 12. Moore also contributed 10 digs.
Henry’s 38 assists and 13 digs gave her nine double-doubles on the year and has posted one in three-straight matches.
The Seawolves dominated at the service line, racking up nine total aces. Outside hitter Lauren Schmitz led the team with three aces, while Henry and Kunz each had two. Libero Julia Patsos and pin hitter Ava Jackson both aced one serve.
Stony Brook will stay on the road this weekend and travel down to Virginia to take on the Hampton Pirates for a two-match series. Opening set is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Pirates are sitting in last place in the CAA with an 0-8 overall record and an 0-6 conference record. They were swept in both matches at William & Mary last weekend.
