Final Stats

Fairfield, Conn. – Bolstered by match highs of 14 kills, 20 digs and four blocks from redshirt junior Kathy Fletcher, the Stony Brook volleyball team won its seventh straight contest, 3-1 (25-18, 26-24, 29-27), Tuesday night at Sacred Heart. Junior Melissa Rigo chimed in with 13 kills and 15 digs.

Junior Nicole Vogel led the match with 39 helpers, and redshirt junior Lo Hathaway finished with 14 digs for Stony Brook (11-7). 

Sacred Heart dropped to 6-11 on the season.

Head Coach Coley Pawlikowski’s Reaction

“Tonight, we did a better job of controlling our side and playing stable. We found ourselves in several Sacred Heart set-point situations and did a nice job of battling to pull out the win. That was good to see! Sacred Heart is a really strong defensive team and did an exceptional job defending. That was fun to play against and forced our offense to be smarter and try different things to find success. I’m excited we had the opportunity to see that. Kudos to them.”

Recap

• Evann Slaughter got started early with a slam to begin the opening set, and Stony Brook quickly found itself up 6-1 when Fletcher scored a kill. The Seawolves took a 20-9 lead, their largest of the frame, on a Taylor Gillie smack from Vogel. Sacred Heart responded with a 7-1 run to pull to within five, 21-16, but Slaughter and Vogel broke up the rally with back-to-back kills.  
• The Pioneers used an 11-5 spurt to take their first lead of the night, 22-21, late in the second stanza. Stony Brook regained the upper hand, 23-22, on a combo-stuff by Fletcher and Slaughter and smack by Slaughter, but the hosts scored the next two points for a 24-23 edge and set-point opportunity. Fletcher kept the Seawolves alive with a slam, and a pair of Pioneers miscues sent Stony Brook to a 26-24 second-frame win.
• Stony Brook fought off five Sacred Heart set-point opportunities in the third set, the last coming when the hosts took a 27-26 lead on a kill. Rigo knocked one over the net to knot the score at 27-27, and rookie Courtney Scanlan registered back-to-back kills to polish off the sweep.

By the Numbers

• Fletcher hit .343.
•  Stony Brook led Sacred Heart in blocks, 7-1. Gillie and Rigo tallied three stuffs blocks apiece.
• Gillie and Stephanie McFadden each registered six kills.
•  The Seawolves hit .271 as a team and held Sacred Heart to .155 hitting.

News and Notes

•  Fletcher’s 20 digs set a new personal best, breaking her previous mark of 18 digs set at Albany Oct. 13, 2013.  
• Rigo notched her team-leading seventh double-double of the season, and Fletcher posted her third. Both Seawolves have recorded double-doubles in each of the last two matches.
• Stony Brook is 11-0 all-time vs. Sacred Heart.
• The Seawolves improved to 3-3 on the road in 2014.
• The seven-match winning streak is the longest for SBU since 2009 (8).

Up Next

Stony Brook clashes with SUNY rivals Albany and Binghamton Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m., respectively.