SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT BOX SCORE | WILMINGTON BOX SCORE

When and Where: November 6, 2016 – New Haven, Conn. (Pelz Gymnasium)
Match 1 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Southern Connecticut State University 2
Match 2 Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Wilmington (Del.) University 2
Records: SNHU 7-19 (4-8 NE-10), SCSU 14-18 (4-9 NE-10), WU 9-18

Junior Marisa Coronis (Hudson, N.H.) posted 22 kills, 36 digs, nine blocks, nine assists and four service aces Sunday afternoon as the Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team pulled out a pair of five-set victories in a tri-match at Southern Connecticut State University's Pelz Gymnasium. SNHU rallied to knock off the host Owls, 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-13, 25-13, 15-13), and then held off Wilmington (Del.) University by the same score (25-18, 27-25, 22-25, 17-25, 15-9).

In the opening set against Southern Connecticut, the Penmen trailed, 8-5, when a 9-2 run from the Owls put them up 17-7 and allowed them to cruise to the 1-0 lead. Similarly in the second set, Southern Connecticut held a 7-6 edge when an 11-2 burst widened its lead to 18-8. Southern New Hampshire responded with an 11-4 counter-run that featured a pair of kills from freshman Jaclyn Maguire (Rochester, N.H.) and slashed the deficit to 22-19. The Owls would rattle off three of the set's final four points to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.

The Penmen came out in set No. 3 and would not lay down as four different players recorded a kill to build a 7-2 lead. With the margin still at five later in the set, Southern New Hampshire ripped off an 11-3 run – with two kills each from Coronis and fellow junior Carolyn Scacchi (Peabody, Mass.) – to break open a 22-9 advantage before taking the set to make it 2-1.

SNHU would trail, 7-5, in the fourth set, when three Coronis kills highlighted a 12-2 avalanche that put the Penmen in front, 17-9. A 5-0 rush later in the set would balloon the lead to 23-11 as Southern New Hampshire would eventually force a fifth and final set.

A pair of Scacchi kills would stake SNHU to a 7-1 lead in the fifth set before a 5-2 spurt from Southern Connecticut would make it 9-6. After back-to-back kills from senior Victoria Wehrmann (Dallas, Texas) gave the Penmen some more breathing room, the Owls reeled off five of the next six points to trim their deficit to 12-11. Kills from Coronis and Wehrmann brought on match-point, but two straight Southern Connecticut kills forced a Southern New Hampshire timeout. The quick break was just what the Penmen needed as they immediately received a kill from Wehrmann to complete the comeback and take the match.

Wehrmann racked up 15 kills on .297 hitting, while Coronis tallied 11 kills (.310), 18 digs and five blocks. Scacchi matched a season high with nine kills on .333 hitting to go along with five blocks. Senior Megan Salamun (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added eight kills, with freshman Joanne Coffey (Merrimack, N.H.) registering 39 assists, 20 digs, three service aces and three blocks. Junior Kathleen Schurman (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) collected 18 digs, as sophomore Shaira Sanabria (Tampa, Fla.) notched 12. Freshman Amanda Costales (Wantagh, N.Y.) chimed in with six kills and three blocks.

With the first Wilmington set tied at 11, Southern New Hampshire rattled off an 11-4 run that featured two kills each from Salamun, Scacchi and Wehrmann and broke open a 22-15 advantage. A Coffey kill and service ace from fellow freshman Jesse Leclerc (Englewood, Fla.) would put the Penmen at set-point before an attack error by the Wildcats put SNHU in front, 1-0.

After four straight Southern New Hampshire attack errors gave Wilmington a 4-0 advantage in set No. 2, a 6-2 spurt – with four different players contributing a kill – knotted things at 6-all. The Wildcats would respond with a 7-2 run that made it 13-8, but a 10-3 rush later in the set – highlighted by two kills each from Wehrmann and Costales – catapulted the Penmen into the lead at 22-21. After a Costales kill staved off defeat and tied the set at 25, a Wilmington attack error and a Wehrman kill stretched the Southern New Hampshire lead to 2-0.

Wilmington responded by jumping out to an 8-2 lead in the third set, but a 10-5 run – with two kills each from Coronis and Salamun – slashed the Southern New Hampshire deficit to 13-12. The Wildcats countered with a 7-1 run that extended their lead to 20-13, but SNHU again answered by collecting eight of the next 11 points, including two via Wehrmann kills, to climb within 23-21. Wilmington would call timeout and then pick up two of the next three kills to send it to a fourth set.

With Southern New Hampshire in front, 13-11, in the fourth set, Wilmington would close it with a 14-4 rush that evened the match at two.

Set No. 5 was all knotted up at nine when two service aces and a kill from Coronis, as well as a pair of Salamun kills, underscored a match-clinching 6-0 run to win it.

Salamun finished with 14 kills, while Wehrmann and Costales each recorded 13. Coronis duplicated her performance from the first match with 11 kills and 18 digs to go along with three service aces and four blocks. Coffey dished out 50 assists and tallied 19 digs, with Schurman collecting 25 digs and Sanabria adding 18. Junior Lauren Irvine (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in seven kills.

Notes:
-The Penmen outhit the Owls in each of the final three sets, as well as .175-.063 for the match.
-Southern New Hampshire held a hitting edge in the three sets it won, while Wilmington was narrowly better for the match, .151-.143.

Up Next:
The Penmen return to action Friday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) when they play host to Pace University at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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