Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

New Britain, Conn. - Stony Brook University's volleyball team dropped three close sets as it lost its season opener to Iona College at the CCSU Blue Devil Invitational in New Britain, Conn. on Friday. The Seawolves were led by senior Gulce Nazli Dikecligil (Istanbul, Turkey), who recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Stony Brook is 0-1 on the season while Iona moves to 1-0.

The Seawolves had a strong start to the season, scoring the first two points of set one with kills by senior Jessica Graham (Eastport, N.Y.) and sophomore Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.). After tying the set at three, Iona went on a seven-to-one run to grab a 10-4 lead.

Down 15-10 later in set one, the Seawolves rallied back to tie it at 15 behind kills from Dikecligil, Graham and junior Lisa Doremus (Glendale, Ariz.). However, Iona's attack combo of Kendall Paulus and Sarah Wiener proved to be too much as the Gaels pulled away, finishing the first set on a 10-4 run.

Stony Brook fell behind early in set two and despite 12 assists from freshman setter Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.), never managed to grab the lead, dropping the set 25-22.

Set three was a back-and-forth battle as the score was tied nine different times, including at 23-23. The Seawolves grabbed a 24-23 lead on a kill by sophomore Jeanette Gibbs (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), but following a Gaels timeout, Iona scored three straight points to win the set and the match.

Sullivan finished the game with 33 assists while Doremus had a team-high attack percentage of .438 (8k, 1e, 16ta).

The Seawolves have two matches on Saturday, starting at 2:30 pm against Bucknell and then at 4:30 pm against Central Connecticut State University.