Sept. 27, 2008

Brown Box Score

Saint Francis (PA) Box Score

Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University's volleyball team swept both of its matches Saturday afternoon to win the Stony Brook Invitational, finishing the round-robin tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. The Seawolves defeated Brown (25-19, 25-16, 25-17) early in the day and then swept Saint Francis (PA) (25-13, 25-22, 25-12) later in the afternoon. With the two victories, Stony Brook evens its record at 9-9.

In the first set of the day, Stony Brook and Brown went back-and-forth early on with neither team managing to open up more than a two-point lead. Following a kill by the Bears' Danielle Vaughan to tie to the score at 10, Stony Brook went on an 11-4 run to grab a 21-14 advantage, capped by a kill from senior Gulce Nazli Dikecligil (Istanbul, Turkey). The Bears battled back, pulling within five on a kill from Lyndse Yess, but the Seawolves offense was too much as a kill from sophomore Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) gave Stony Brook the 25-19 win.

Unlike the first set, Stony Brook jumped all over the Bears at the start of the second frame with a 7-1 opening run. Brown never rebounded as the Seawolves cruised to a 25-16 victory. Sophomore Ashley Headen (Alexandria, Va.) recorded three kills and four blocks for Stony Brook.

The third set was almost a mirror-image of the second with Brown taking a 7-2 lead. But the Seawolves would not trail for long and eventually took a 10-9 lead on a kill from Dikecligil. A kill from senior Jessica Graham (Eastport, N.Y.), a Brown attack error, another kill by Dikecligil and an ace from junior Michelle Burrola (Glendale, Ariz.) put the Seawolves up 14-9 and forced Brown into a timeout. The Seawolves never relented their lead, as their defense held Brown to just eight more points.

Overall, the Bears had an attack percentage of just .057 while the Seawolves post 12 total blocks. Dikecligil recorded another double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs. Nelson also had double-digit kills with ten, while junior Lisa Doremus (Glendale, Ariz.) reached double-figures in digs with ten.

The Seawolves came out determined to sweep the Invitational in their second match, wasting no time putting Saint Francis (PA) in an early hole. The Seawolves offensive was firing on all cylinders as six different players recorded digs and the team registered an attack percentage of .407 for the set as they eased to an opening frame 25-13 win.

The Red Flash showed some life in the second set, leading the Seawolves 11-7. With the set tied at 16-16, Stony Brook finally took control, rattling off three straight points. A kill by the Red Flash's Shirley Miller did pull them within one at 23-22, but a kill followed by an ace from Dikecligil ended the set, 25-22.

Stony Brook wasted no time putting the deciding set out of reach, as they quickly lead 11-2. Nelson led the Seawolves with six kills and had a .500 attack percentage.

Freshman setter Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.) recorded 11 assists in all three sets against the Red Flash and finished with 104 assists (11.5/set) in all three games of the Invitational.

Dikecligil led Stony Brook with 39 total kills, followed closely by Nelson's 37. Burrola and Headen paced the Seawolves defense with 37 digs and 12 blocks respectively. Dikecligil, who currently ranks fifth in the country in aces per set, improved her average this weekend, finishing with eight (0.89/set).

Dikecligil was named the Stony Brook Invitational MVP, while Headen and Sullivan were both named to the all-tournament team.