STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Stony Brook volleyball team picked up a crucial conference victory over Elon in a four-set victory inside Pritchard Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. A double-double performance from Leoni Kunz helped push the Seawolves to their fifth CAA win of the season.
In the third set,
Kali Moore became the 13th student-athlete in program history to record 1,000 career kills behind a 21-kill match.
The Seawolves were led by a double-double from Kunz, who registered 10 kills and 15 digs on the day, while Moore helped the attack with 21 kills.
Madison Cigna had a dominant display on the service line, tallying a match-high six aces to boost the Seawolves offense. On the defensive end,
Torri Henry chipped in with 14 digs to go with six blocks from
Ayanna Pierre Louis.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Seawolves grabbed control on the first point and never looked back to win the first set, 25-12. Stony Brook opened up its biggest lead of 13 points to finish off the set, helped by .333 hitting on 13 kills with Moore collecting eight total. Stony Brook also supplemented their offense with five aces from Cigna in the opening frame. The Seawolves also got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Elon attacks, thanks to
Abby Campbell, Henry, and Moore.
SET 2 | Stony Brook then fell in set two, 25-22. The Seawolves fell behind on the first point and never clawed back into the lead before dropping the set to the Phoenix. Despite hitting .000, Elon was able to piece together a set to keep themselves in the match.
SET 3 | Stony Brook then got back on the winning track, emerging victorious in the third set, 25-15. The Seawolves had match-high .444 hitting with 15 kills in the process. It would be a team effort as six players tallied at least one kill in the set to help Stony Brook take a 2-1 lead.
SET 4 | Stony Brook kept the momentum going, closing out the match with a 26-24 fourth-set victory. The Seawolves came out on top of a close battle, winning in a stanza that was tied seven times before a late lead change as Stony Brook went up at 22-21. The squad hit .227 with another 15 kills to secure the win and earn their second straight victory over the Phoenix.
STATS AND NOTES
- Leoni Kunz registered her 25th career double-double with 10 kills and a match-high 15 digs. She added six blocks and one assist to her totals.
- Kali Moore led the Seawolves offense with a match-high 21 kills.
- Stony Brook attackers were helped by a match-high 37 assists from Torri Henry. The graduate student setter has dished out 35 or more assists in 14 matches this season.
- Madison Cigna served up a career-high six aces in the win.
- Stony Brook never trailed on the way to winning the first and third set.
- The Seawolves are 2-1 all-time against the Phoenix.
QUOTES FROM THE SEAWOLVES
"There were moments of really clean volleyball today and that put us in good situations," noted head coach Kristin Belzung. "Every CAA match down the stretch is important so I'm happy our group came locked in ready to compete. The turnaround on these weekends is quick and Elon is going to be ready to go tomorrow so we need to match that."
NEXT UP
Stony Brook returns to action tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 20 against Elon. The Seawolves and Phoenix close out the weekend with first serve set for 12 p.m. from Pritchard Gymnasium.
For an inside look at the Seawolves volleyball program, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
