STONY BROOK, N.Y. - The Seawolves held on to win a five-set stunner on Saturday as they rallied back after losing a 2-0 lead to split the series vs. UNCW with a 3-2 victory (25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 16-14).
Ella Sanders made it two straight matches with a double-double as she led the team with 15 kills and 19 digs, as well as pacing the squad with four aces. Mercedes Motton was right behind her with 10 kills, while Zayda Fuertez recorded 14 digs. At the net, Mopelola Ojo and Damisi Osibodu were tied with eight blocks apiece.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Seawolves got off to a blistering start to the afternoon, coming out to a 8-1 advantage. Thought the Seahawks would fight back and eventually tie it 13-13, Stony Brook responded by scoring seven of the next 10 to go back up 20-16 as Sanders logged her first two kills of the day. Carey-Jean Block would go on to finish off the set with the team's third ace of the frame.
SET 2 | Both teams were neck-and-neck halfway through as neither squad built a lead greater than two points and the Seawolves entered the media timeout trailing just 15-14. Motton picked up another three kills during this time, while Avari Amstutz and Ojo each had a kill and a block. Out of the timeout, the Seawolves quickly retook the lead as Sanders racked up three more points to make it 19-17. Ojo then scored another block and a kill to help close out the set.
SET 3 | The Seawolves struggled to find a rhythm in the third and quickly found themselves in a 12-3 hole. A pair of 4-0 runs backed by multiple kills and aces from Sanders and Block would briefly swing momentum in Stony Brook's favor, but it was not enough to full get the team back into the set as UNCW held on for the win.
SET 4 | Stony Brook again found itself on the back foot as UNCW came out to a 7-2 lead. Coming out of the timeout trailing 15-9, mounting attack errors by the Seahawks along with a combined five kills from Amstutz and Pierre Louis would allow the Seawolves to come back and tie it 22-22, but just like in the third UNCW just managed to hang on long enough to finish the set.
SET 5 | Back-to-back aces from Fuertez followed by back-to-back blocks from Osibodu got the Seawolves off to a 5-1 start in the fifth. After the Seahawks pulled within one at 7-6, a block by Osibodu and a pair of kills from Sanders made it a four-point game. Though UNCW came back knotted up the score at 14-14, Motton made it 15-14 with her 10th kill before a bad set by the Seahawks gave Stony Brook the win.
Notable Stats
- Osibodu is now up to 118 total blocks on the season, marking the highest total by any Seawolf in the last 25 years. She is now just nine away from reaching the program's single-season top 10.
- Sanders now has 10 double-doubles on the season and 22 in her career.
- Ojo's eight total blocks are a new career high.
- Fuertez blew past the 600-dig mark, ending the day with 612.
- As a team, the Seawolves had 13 service aces and 17 total blocks. Both are tied for the second most the team has had in a match this year.
Up Next
The Seawolves hit the road one last time in the regular season next week as they head down to Buies Creek, N.C. for two matches at Campbell. The action begins Friday at 6:00 p.m. and continues on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on FloCollege.
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