BOX SCORE

When and Where: September 6, 2016 – No. Andover, Mass. (Hammel Court)
Score: Merrimack College 3, Southern New Hampshire University 1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21)
Records: Merrimack 1-3, SNHU 1-4

Senior Victoria Wehrmann (Dallas, Texas) collected a team-high 14 kills on .542 hitting and freshman Joanne Coffey (Merrimack, N.H.) posted her second career double-double with 39 assists and 11 digs, but the Southern New Hampshire University women's volleyball team fell to Merrimack College, 3-1, Tuesday evening in non-conference action at Hammel Court. Set scores were 21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21.

After scoring the first three points of the opening set, Southern New Hampshire found itself trailing, 14-10, midway through the stanza. The Penmen responded, however, with junior Marisa Coronis (Hudson, Mass.) ripping a pair of kills to spark an 8-0 run that put SNHU up, 18-14. The Warriors would climb back in it by cutting the deficit to 18-17, but would never get closer. Leading, 23-21, the Penmen closed out the set with kills from junior Carolyn Scacchi (Peabody, Mass.) and Coffey.

Southern New Hampshire again tallied the first three points in set No. 2 and led 9-4 when a 5-1 spurt trimmed the deficit to one at 10-9 for Merrimack. SNHU held off the Warriors and eventually grabbed an 18-14 advantage before Merrimack reeled off eight of the next nine points to open a 22-19 edge. The Penmen would close to within 24-23, but a kill by Mary Kate McCaroll evened the match.

SNHU once again led by three early in the third set at 5-2, but four straight Merrimack points gave it a 6-5 edge. The Warriors were in front, 17-16, when they scored eight of the set's final 11 points to go up 2-1 in the match.

Merrimack finally got off to a good start in the fourth set, scoring the first five points and taking a 7-1 lead. Southern New Hampshire later went on a 6-2 run out of a timeout to trim its deficit to 14-11, before eventually going on top, 20-19, on a kill from reigning Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week Jaclyn Maguire (Rochester, N.Y.). The Warriors would stop the bleeding and score six of the next seven points to take the set and the match.

Coronis tallied 10 kills, eight digs, four blocks and a service ace. Freshman Amanda Costales (Wantagh, N.Y.) posted six kills and five blocks, while senior Megan Salamun (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added five kills and five blocks. Maguire chipped in six kills and junior Kathleen Schurman (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) notched 10 digs. Coffey complemented her double-double with three blocks.

Notes:
-Southern New Hampshire outhit Merrimack in the first two sets and by a .227-.194 margin, overall.
-SNHU's 10 team blocks and 20 block assists are the most since the team recorded a solo block and 20 block assists for 11 team blocks at Merrimack on Oct. 16 of last season.
- Coffey's 178 assists through the first 19 sets of her career are the most for a Penmen freshman since at least 2005. Interim head coach Catherine Cotton is the closest with 170 helpers back in 2012.

The Penmen return to action Friday, Sept. 9 (12 p.m.) when they take on the New York Institute of Technology at the Georgian Court University Invitational. The home opener for SNHU is Tuesday, Sept. 13 (7 p.m.) when they play host to Saint Anselm College at the SNHU Fieldhouse.

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