Aug. 28, 2010
Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS - Freshman Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) recorded 13 kills and 11 digs while sophomore Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) tallied nine kills and nine digs as the Marist volleyball team defeated Prairie View A&M 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 27-25, 25-17) on Saturday morning in the team's third match of the Comfort Suites Sam Houston State University Invitational. The victory was Marist's first of the season after dropping two matches on Friday.
Marist (1-2) maintained a 5-4 lead in the first set after two kills by Estes and one by senior Allie Burke (Alpharetta, Ga.). After Prairie View regained the lead 6-5, the Red Foxes responded with five unanswered points to take a 10-6 lead on kills from Stoiberg and Hill. With the set tied 16-16, Prairie View regained the lead on a kill by Cheri Lindsay and a service ace by Erin Fondel. Marist then crept to within one point late in the set, 21-20, but Prairie View held on for the 25-20 win on a service ace from Breanna McNeil. Hill tallied four kills and three digs in the opening set which featured 11 ties.
Prairie View (0-3) took an early 4-0 lead over the Red Foxes in the second set on kills by Lindsay and McNeil in addition to two service aces from Jasmine Hales. Trailing 9-4, Marist evened up the set at 10-10 on kills from Hill and Stoiberg. The Red Foxes took their first lead of the set, 11-10, after capitalizing on an attack error by Prairie View's Maegan Coleman. Despite holding an 18-14 lead, Marist could not keep Prairie View at bay, as the Panthers tied up the set 20-20 behind two more service aces from Hales. Hales, however, faltered on her next serve, and Stoiberg followed with three service aces of her own to give the Red Foxes a 24-20 lead. A service error by Prairie View's Cheri Lindsay gave Marist a 25-21 second set victory.
In a repeat of the previous set, Prairie View jumped out to another 4-0 lead to start the third set before a Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) kill got the Red Foxes on the board. Trailing 8-4, the Red Foxes faught back to tie up the score at 9-9. From there, Prairie View built a commanding 21-12 lead, but Marist rallied in impressive fashion to capture 13 of the next 16 points to take a 25-24 lead. Stoiberg led the Red Foxes' charge with three kills while Hill and Harridsleff closed out the set with kills of their own to give Marist the improbable 27-25 third set victory.
Building off the momentum from their third set comeback, the Red Foxes took a 4-0 lead on a kill from Kayla Burton (Kissimmee, Fla.) and a service ace from Stoiberg. Marist held onto the lead for the rest of the set, including opening up a six-point advantage at one point, 15-9, on kills from Estes and Harridsleff in addition to a service ace from Hill. Leading 20-15, Marist scored five of the next seven points to close out the set and preserve their first victory of the season.
For the match, Marist outhit Prairie View .240 to .171 in addition to holding a 13-8 advantage in team blocks. Both teams recorded 47 kills while Prairie View held a 55-49 edge in digs.
The Red Foxes will return to action this evening when they take on Eastern Michigan at 5:30 p.m. ET.
