NORTH ANDOVER, MA – Trailing 2-0, the Merrimack volleyball
team rallied back to force a fifth and decisive set, but the
comeback fell just short as they lost to Dowling College 3-2 Friday
night.
Game scores were 25-13, 25-15, 21-25, 23-25, 15-13.
In a rematch of the last season’s first round NCAA Tournament
matchup, the Warriors struggled early, committing numerous errors,
posting attack percentages of .000 and -.100 in the first two
games. They recovered, however, storming back to win the next two
games, behind the play of Molly Cindric (Westlake Village,
CA) and Kristin Applegate (Hampstead,
NH), and the play of the bench from Megan Murray
(Rancho San Margarita, CA) and Jamie Doerrier (Bay
Shore, NY).
They led 10-9 in the fifth set, but Dowling tallied five of the
next six points, led by Patricja Klekotka, who had a game-high 21
kills, to take a 14-11 lead. The Warriors cut it to 14-13, as
Applegate tallied back-to-back kills, but the Golden Lions closed
the match out with a kill to win it 15-13 in the fifth.
Cindric had a team-high 12 kills to go with 11 digs, while
Alyssa Pickert (Tinley Park, IL) added 24 digs.
Ale Kuncaitis (Canton, MA) tallied 17 digs, eight
kills and two aces, with Murray getting four block assists, one
solo block and three kills in the final three sets. Doerrier
contributed four kills and hit .333. Merrimack committed 33 errors,
compared with 26 for Dowling.
Maja Potpara posted a double-double on 24 assists and 11 kills and
added nine digs and seven block assists, while Jessica Gall had 31
digs and three service aces.
The Warriors entered Friday’s match having won 11 straight
home matches dating back to a 3-2 defeat by UMass Lowell on October
28, 2006.
Merrimack (7-5, 2-0 NE-10) is at Bentley tomorrow facing regional
powers Queens (1 p.m.) and Bridgeport (3:30 p.m.)