STONY BROOK, N.Y. --Kali Moore and Leoni Kunz both notched double-doubles to help lead the Stony Brook volleyball team to a 3-2 victory (31-29, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10) against the UNCW Seahawks on Saturday at Pritchard Gymnasium.
The Seawolves were led by double-doubles from both Moore, who had 15 kills and 10 digs, and Kunz, who had 17 kills and 25 digs. Ava Jackson also added 14 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Julia Patsos chipped in with 22 digs to go with seven blocks from Ayanna Pierre Louis.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Seawolves took the first set 31-29 powered by a strong showing on the attacking end. Stony Brook registered a .395 attack percentage with 22 kills in the set victory, including Abby Campbell leading the way with six in the set. The Seawolves opened up a 13-7 lead in the stanza following an error by UNCW. But, the Seahawks stormed back later to tie the set at 24-24. However, Stony Brook kept the pressure on Wilmington by tallying the final three points from kills by Moore and Campbell to take the opening set.
SET 2 | Stony Brook then dropped set two 25-23, evening things at a set each. UNCW grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18 in a set that was tied up 15 times before the Seahawks took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 3 | Stony Brook would dropped their second set in a row, falling behind in the match two sets to one. The Seawolves came up short by the score of 25-21. Stony Brook trailed by as many as seven points as UNCW grabbed the advantage for good at 2-1 in a set that was knotted up just once before the Seahawks took over the lead.
SET 4 | The Seawolves broke their two set losing streak and forced a fifth set with a 25-22 victory in set number four. The squad grabbed the advantage at 17-16 after a kill by Henry in a set that featured seven ties and seven lead changes. Stony Brook also supplemented their offense with four aces in the set, including two by Sammie Sheppard.
SET 5 | Stony Brook fought back from down 2-1 to win two straight sets, culminating in a 15-10 fifth-set victory, and earn the 3-2 win. The Seawolves scored first and never trailed in set five to secure the victory. Stony Brook ended on a high note, opening its biggest lead of the stanza, five points, to close out the set, totaling nine kills while only notching one attack error in the set. Kunz and Moore were the heros in the set by combijning for five kills, including the game-winning kill by Kunz to secure the five-set match. More details to come.
STATS AND NOTES
- Moore and Kunz both secured double-doubles in the win.
- Stony Brook had three players in double figures in kills (Kunz, Moore, and Jackson).
- Stony Brook had four players in double figures in digs (Kunz, Patsos, Moore, and Henry).
- Jackson had a team-high two aces in the win.
- The squad never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 15-10.
- Leoni Kunz had a team-high 17 kills and 25 digs for Stony Brook. It was the fifth double-double of the season for Kunz and her 25 digs marked a new career-high for the senior.
- Moore tallied 15 kills and 10 digs this afternoon for her team-high eighth double-double of the season. She also had 10 or more kills in her last three matches.
- Stony Brook attackers were helped by a match-high 56 assists from Torri Henry. It was the sixth time this season that the setter had at least 50 assists and has 40 or more in her last three matches.
- Jackson had a career-best 14 kills in the victory and has 10 or more kills in her last three outings.
- Patsos now has double-figure digs in 23 of 26 matches this season by finishing with 22 digs. It was the fourth time this season that she tallied at least 20 digs.
- The victory moved the Seawolves' record to 13-13 overall and 8-7 in CAA play.
- Stony Brook is now 1-0 all-time against UNCW.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"Defensively I thought we were locked in from start to finish and that put a lot of pressure on UNCW attackers," head coach
Kristin Belzung said postgame. "Our first contact was not as consistent and that kept us a little out of rhythm but ultimately I'm really proud of our group for their toughness to keep fighting to get the result even as they weren't feeling comfortable. Big opportunity to celebrate our seniors tomorrow and all they have done for this program."
NEXT UP
Stony Brook returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 5th against UNCW for their 2023 Senior Day Match. The Seawolves and Seahawks close out the weekend with first serve set for 1:00 p.m. from Pritchard Gymnasium.
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