Sept. 4, 2010

Rhode Island Box Score
Quinnipiac Box Score

New Haven, Conn. - Junior Alicia Nelson (Apple Valley, Minn.) recorded a double-double (15 kills, 13 digs) to lead the Stony Brook University volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20) victory over the Quinnipiac Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at the Yale Invitational. The Seawolves fell to Rhode Island 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 25-12) in their first match of the day.

It was the second double-double in three games for Nelson, who hit .400. Senior Ashley Headen (Alexandria, Va.) added 11 kills while senior Jeanette Gibbs (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) tallied a game-high 16 digs.

Stony Brook jumped on the Bobcats early, grabbing a 16-6 lead in set one. Quinnipiac rallied to within 20-18 but the Seawolves scored five straight points, three on aces from freshman Masa Balandzic (Pljevlja, Montenegro), to take a 1-0 lead.

The Seawolves led right from the start in set two, taking a 17-11 lead on a kill from sophomore Greta Strenger (Woodbury, Minn.). Quinnipiac answered back with seven straight points though to take a one-point lead.

But freshman Kaitlin Costello (Webster, N.Y.) responded with a kill to tie the game before SBU took the lead for good on a Quinnipiac attack error. SBU closed out the set on a block from Headen and junior Kelsey Sullivan (Hamilton, Va.).

Stony Brook again jumped to an early lead in set three, scoring six of the first seven points. The Bobcats once again clawed back though, trimming the Seawolves lead to 16-15 on an Amanda Armstrong kill. But SBU scored eight of the next nine points to get within a point of winning match.

The Bobcats then scored three straight points before Nelson closed the set and the match with a kill. The Seawolves held Quinnipiac to a hitting percentage of .069.

Set one against Rhode Island was close most of the way, with the Seawolves trailing 15-12 midway through. Stony Brook still trailed by just two, 20-18, following a URI attack error but the Rams scored the next two points to grab a four-point advantage. The Seawolves pulled within 24-22 on a Strenger kill but URI scored the next point to take a 1-0 lead.

Stony Brook dominated set two, grabbing a 10-3 lead behind three early kills from Headen and two from Sullivan. The Rams cut the SBU lead to 15-14 but the Seawolves answered with an 8-1 run to take 23-15 lead. SBU eventually closed the game out on a block from freshman Evann Slaughter (Clinton, Md.).

The Seawolves trailed by six early in set three before rallying to within 16-15 on a kill from Headen. But that is as close as they would get as Rhode Island scored the next three points to push its lead to four and the Seawolves got no closer than three the rest of the way.

Rhode Island led right from the start in set four, scoring the first four points on its way to an 11-4 lead. Stony Brook answered with two straight points but the Rams slowly pulled away from there on its way to the 13-point win.

The Seawolves return to action next weekend at the Fordham Invitational.