The Stony Brook women’s volleyball team defeated Sacred Heart in straight sets 25-18, 25-20, 26-24 on Tuesday night in Pritchard Gymnasium.
The majority of first set went back and forth. A kill by senior outside hitter Kathy Fletcher forced Pioneers head coach Rob Machan to call a timeout when the Seawolves were ahead, 19-17.
Fletcher and senior middle blocker Stephanie McFadden had 11 kills between them in the first set, helping Stony Brook pull away to win it, 25-18.
Seawolves senior setter Nicole Vogel, who had 14 assists, did a great job in getting all of her hitters involved in the first set. All five of them had two or more kills.
In the second set, Sacred Heart stuck with Stony Brook, but the team conjured timely defense, while Fletcher and McFadden used consistent hitting to continually pick apart the Pioneers defense.
Seawolves freshman middle and outside hitter McKyla Brooks delivered the final blow in the second set with two kills giving Stony Brook a 25-20 win, putting themselves just a set away from capturing the match.
McFadden could not be stopped in the first two sets as she converted on 10 of her 12 kill attempts, giving her a .833 kill percentage.
“She just keeps getting better and better,” coach Dan Pawlikowski said. “She’s just so focused this year being a senior. She’s been an inspiration to the team.”
Late in the third set, a Pioneers error gave the Seawolves a match point—Stony Brook was on the brink of victory. However Sacred Heart fought back to tie the game.
Despite the Pioneers tying and giving themselves hope, a tip kill by Brooks and a double block by Brooks and Fletcher finished off Stony Brook’s sweep.
“One hundred percent it’s because of the chemistry in volleyball you have to trust the person next to you to succeed.” Fletcher said of Stony Brook’s hot streak. “The past couple of years that’s been our downfall because we didn’t exactly have the best chemistry, every win we have has been because of our team chemistry.”
Vogel had a masterful night as she contributed 43 assists, spreading the ball around as all of her hitters put away at least six kills.
McFadden finished with a more-than-solid all-around night finishing with 14 kills and a .737 kill percentage. She also had two aces, two digs and two blocks.
The Seawolves have been on a recent hot streak winning six of their last eight games and have continued to improve as the season has gone along. Their next game is tomorrow, Oct. 23 as they host Delaware State.
The Seawolves will continue their conference play when they head to UMBC Sunday Oct. 25.
