CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Stony Brook volleyball team picked up its second victory of the season as it knocked off Harvard 3-1 to open up the Harvard Invitational. This was the season opener for the Crimson, while the Seawolves move to 2-3 on the year with the victory.
Belzung's Reaction
"I'm really proud of the competitiveness from our team tonight," said head coach
Kristin Belzung. "We put a big emphasis on being clean offensively this week and I thought we executed really well tonight. Tomorrow will be a challenging day against two very good teams in American and Sacred Heart."
Set By Set
- Harvard came out strong in the opening set, but the Seawolves battled back from being down 6-1 early. A steady push eventually saw them take their first lead of the day at 12-11. Stony Brook scored seven of the final eight points in the first set to take an early lead.
- After both teams traded points to begin the second set, the Crimson broke a six-all tie and never looked back. The Seawolves kept it close throughout the set, getting back within two points with the set on the line, but Harvard was able to close it out and tie the match at 1-1.
- Stony Brook never trailed in the third set, forcing the Crimson to call an early timeout after taking a 9-3 lead. The Seawolves continued to cruise, going up 20-10 and eventually making it a 25-16 win.
- Close play returned in the fourth set, but five straight points by Stony Brook put the team up 12-9 and the Seawolves remained in control to close out the match.
Notes
- Sophomores Jordan Gels (Lewis Center, Ohio) and LeAnne Sakowicz (Wauconda, Ill.) posted career numbers in the match as Gels tallied 15 kills and Sakowicz finished with 48 assists.
- Including Gels, Stony Brook had four players with double-digit kills as McKyla Brooks (Blasdell, N.Y.) led the way with 17, Emily Costello (Webster, N.Y.) had 13 and Maria Poole (Stavanger, Norway) added 11.
- The Seawolves tallied 62 kills in the match, hitting at a .331 clip, while Harvard hit just .169 with 40 kills on the night.
Up Next
The Seawolves will continue play at the Harvard Invitational on Saturday, starting the day with a match against American at 10 a.m., followed by a 4 p.m. match against Sacred Heart.
